list http://www.spout.com/ Recent community activity around The Bourne Identity on Spout Copyright 2005-9 Spout, LLC Spout RSS http://www.spout.com/images/SpoutLogoRSS.jpg http://www.spout.com/ 136 30 http://www.spout.com/films/The_Bourne_Identity/207478/default.aspx Title: The Bourne Identity
Year: 2002
Director: Doug Liman
Plot: The best-selling suspense novel by late author Robert Ludlum comes to the screen for a second time, following a 1988 made-for-TV movie. Matt Damon stars as Jason Bourne, a barely alive amnesiac with a pair of bullet wounds in his back, pulled from the Mediterranean by Italian fishermen. Bourne's only clue to his own identity is a bank account number etched on a capsule implanted in his body. He quickly finds the Zurich bank where money, a gun, and a few identification documents await, but after he's pursued by security goons at the American consulate, Bourne realizes he can trust no one and offers a German gypsy named Marie (Franka Potente) ten thousand dollars for a ride to Paris. Encountering more professional killers bent on his destruction, Bourne discovers that he possesses a surprising degree of skill in combat, martial arts, and linguistics -- handy talents that clearly indicate his past includes work as a spy and assassin, but for whom? With Marie's reluctant help, Bourne edges closer to the truth, something CIA officials want concealed at all costs. The Bourne Identity co-stars Chris Cooper, Clive Owen, Brian Cox, and Julia Stiles. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
Times Tagged: 58
Number of Lists: 101
Number of blog posts: 15
Number of discussion threads: 6
SpoutRating: 4
]]>Thu, 18 Jun 2009 02:54:27 GMTThe Bourne Identity2002Doug LimanThe best-selling suspense novel by late author Robert Ludlum comes to the screen for a second time, following a 1988 made-for-TV movie. <a href="/players/P____16762/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Matt Damon</a> stars as Jason Bourne, a barely alive amnesiac with a pair of bullet wounds in his back, pulled from the Mediterranean by Italian fishermen. Bourne's only clue to his own identity is a bank account number etched on a capsule implanted in his body. He quickly finds the Zurich bank where money, a gun, and a few identification documents await, but after he's pursued by security goons at the American consulate, Bourne realizes he can trust no one and offers a German gypsy named Marie (<a href="/players/P___263424/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Franka Potente</a>) ten thousand dollars for a ride to Paris. Encountering more professional killers bent on his destruction, Bourne discovers that he possesses a surprising degree of skill in combat, martial arts, and linguistics -- handy talents that clearly indicate his past includes work as a spy and assassin, but for whom? With Marie's reluctant help, Bourne edges closer to the truth, something CIA officials want concealed at all costs. The Bourne Identity co-stars <a href="/players/P____14803/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Chris Cooper</a>, <a href="/players/P____54491/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Clive Owen</a>, <a href="/players/P____86106/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Brian Cox</a>, and <a href="/players/P___230869/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Julia Stiles</a>. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide58Tag Target (>10)1011564http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/s207478.jpghttp://www.spout.com/films/The_Bourne_Identity/207478/default.aspxFilm http://www.spout.com/groups/Movie_Polls/Re_Out_2008_s_nominees_for_the_Best_Achievement_in/657/38616/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: Risselada
Post To: Movie Polls
Post Date: 12/19/2008 2:06:32 PM
Body: [quote user="seely"] I'm not going to vote, having only seen Michael Clayton, but I will say I thoroughly enjoyed that film and felt it is certainly a worthy contender in that category. All performances was brilliant, and the story, while hectic, maintained its coherency beginning to end. I'm not a huge Clooney fan, and especially was skeptical of his potential performance given the role of his character, but wow... he knocked it out of the water. Surely a sign of a great director. [/quote] Looking at Tony Gilroy's resume, he has primarily been a screenwriter for nearly the past two decades. This was his first attempt at directing that is listed on IMDB. He was a writer on the adaptations of all the Bourne movies recently. And he also recently completed a movie that will be coming out next year called Duplicity with a lot of big name actors. Do you think this guy has a bright future?
]]>Fri, 19 Dec 2008 19:06:32 GMTRisseladaMovie Polls12/19/2008 2:06:32 PM[quote user="seely"] I'm not going to vote, having only seen Michael Clayton, but I will say I thoroughly enjoyed that film and felt it is certainly a worthy contender in that category. All performances was brilliant, and the story, while hectic, maintained its coherency beginning to end. I'm not a huge Clooney fan, and especially was skeptical of his potential performance given the role of his character, but wow... he knocked it out of the water. Surely a sign of a great director. [/quote] Looking at Tony Gilroy's resume, he has primarily been a screenwriter for nearly the past two decades. This was his first attempt at directing that is listed on IMDB. He was a writer on the adaptations of all the Bourne movies recently. And he also recently completed a movie that will be coming out next year called Duplicity with a lot of big name actors. Do you think this guy has a bright future? http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/archive/2008/12/17/38505.aspx Post By: SpoutBlog
Post To: SpoutBlog on spout.com
Post Date: 12/17/2008 6:00:27 PM
Body: One of the many things Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich did this week — instead of resigning from his position, as many people desired — was sign into law an increase on tax credits for films produced in his state. So, it should be only appropriate, and somewhat bittersweet, for the inevitable movie about his life and corruption hearings to be shot there. Now that we’ve got a location for the film, it’s time to cast the players in Blogojevich’s scandalous tale. The Washington Post has already published a list of possible actors to portray the lead (John Travolta, Sean Astin, Gary Cole, Stephen Baldwin, Tom Cruise, Ray Liotta, Charlie Sheen, Mike Myers and Steve Carrell), but more difficult than casting Blogojevich (see our pick below) is determining what other significant figures should be prominently featured. A straight biopic calls for way too many characters, so we’ve narrowed the film down to focus on just Blagojevich’s arrest and subsequent (forthcoming) trial. As always, if there’s another character to be included or another thespian suited to a role we’ve cast, chime in with a comment. Also, due to the fact that we’ve previously done posts about Barack Obama casting, let’s just assume that he’ll only be portrayed by a voice on the phone, a la Al Gore in Recount. Sam Rockwell as Governor Rod Blogojevich The perfect look-a-like casting choice would be former Attorney General Janet Reno, but Sam Rockwell (Frost/Nixon) is also a pretty close match. The actor has already played a lot of sleazy characters, including the lead role in Choke, for which he was recently named one of the “most offensive male characters” of 2008 by the Women Film Critics Circle. Rockwell also has experience portraying a conceited and delusional celebrity in George Clooney’s Confessions of a Dangerous Mind. If that actor-director pair could link up again for this movie, Rockwell could certainly be looking at his first well-deserved Oscar nomination. Mary Lynn Rajskub as Patti Blogojevich Rockwell is a tad young for the role of Blogojevich, so it’s fair that we also aim younger in casting the actress to play Illinois’ First Lady. Few women are more perfect for the part than Mary Lynn Rajskub (TV’s 24), who is about 8 years Blogojevich’s junior, anyway. Talented for playing cranky and/or two-faced women (mainly we’re thinking of her character in Punch-Drunk Love), she would be excellent as the allegedly foul-mouthed wife of the Governor. Mario Van Peebles as U.S. Representative Jesse Jackson, Jr. Fittingly the son of an important African American leader (though being an icon of black cinema is admittedly not quite the same as being an icon of the civil rights movement), Mario Van Peebles (Ali) is conversely too old to play this part, especially since Jackson looks a lot younger than he is. But he’s a great, underrated actor (too good for All My Children, that’s for sure) and he could easily pull off a portrayal of the congressman, who was one of the contenders for Barack Obama’s now-vacant Senate seat, and who has apparently been a longtime informant to feds regarding Blagojevich’s shady dealings. Martin Donovan as U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald One idea for the part of the federal prosecutor in this case is Richard “John Boy” Thomas. He does look a little more like Fitzgerald, but Martin Donovan (Saved!)  got the Irish-American thing going for him, and it would be more interesting to see if he can do the Brooklyn accent. Plus, Donovan often works with Mary-Louise Parker, who would be perfect for the part of Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan if she were an included character in the film. Brian Cox (or Albert Finney) as Defense Attorney Ed Genson An immediate idea following a Google image search was to jokingly cast actor Kevin Scannell, who played wheelchair-bound lawyer “Gar Girard” in The Player. But as it turns out, contrary to most photos available on the web, Genson no longer has such a handicap. So, a more appropriate suggestion for the famously tough lawyer (often called “the bulldog of the court room”), who formerly won R. Kelly’s child-pornography trial and who will now defend Blagojevich, is The Bourne Identy’s Brian Cox (not ever called “the bulldog of cinema,” though he should be). Or, in the event that you too think he’s easily interchangeable with Cox, Albert Finney (The Bourne Ultimatum) would also be suitable. Whichever of the two is cast, he’ll have to either get Genson’s accent down or have his dialogue overdubbed by William Hurt. James Woods as Lt. Governor Pat Quinn He may not really look like Quinn, but James Woods (Ghosts of Mississippi) is terrific at changing his appearance for Oscar-worthy supporting roles. This might not be a big enough part for an actor of his stature, but he’d be great at aping the wide-eyed expressions Quinn does when speaking publicly. Stanley Tucci as Antoin “Tony” Rezko It’s not certain yet if convicted fundraiser Tony Rezko will be involved in Blagojevich’s trial, though his testimonial would serve the prosecution well. If he is a major player, then Stanley Tucci (The Devil Wears Prada), with a puffy makeup job and fake mustache, should fill the role. Although Tucci is not Syrian like Rezko, he did once play a Middle Eastern assassin in The Pelican Brief. William Petersen as John Harris As Blagojevich’s former Chief of Staff, who resigned from his position after his joint arrest with the governor last week, William Petersen (TV’s CSI) would callback to his similar role as a political scandal figure in The Contender. “The Football” as Itself One of the harshest punishments for Blagojevich would be for the feds to deny the Governor his beloved hairbrush, which is nicknamed “The Football” (after a term used for the president’s possession of bomb codes). Then, producers of the Blagojevich film should purchase the item for a cameo appearance. Because, as the Governor would declare, there’s no substitute for it. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog
]]>Wed, 17 Dec 2008 23:00:27 GMTSpoutBlogSpoutBlog on spout.com12/17/2008 6:00:27 PMOne of the many things Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich did this week — instead of resigning from his position, as many people desired — was sign into law an increase on tax credits for films produced in his state. So, it should be only appropriate, and somewhat bittersweet, for the inevitable movie about his life and corruption hearings to be shot there. Now that we’ve got a location for the film, it’s time to cast the players in Blogojevich’s scandalous tale. The Washington Post has already published a list of possible actors to portray the lead (John Travolta, Sean Astin, Gary Cole, Stephen Baldwin, Tom Cruise, Ray Liotta, Charlie Sheen, Mike Myers and Steve Carrell), but more difficult than casting Blogojevich (see our pick below) is determining what other significant figures should be prominently featured. A straight biopic calls for way too many characters, so we’ve narrowed the film down to focus on just Blagojevich’s arrest and subsequent (forthcoming) trial. As always, if there’s another character to be included or another thespian suited to a role we’ve cast, chime in with a comment. Also, due to the fact that we’ve previously done posts about Barack Obama casting, let’s just assume that he’ll only be portrayed by a voice on the phone, a la Al Gore in Recount. Sam Rockwell as Governor Rod Blogojevich The perfect look-a-like casting choice would be former Attorney General Janet Reno, but Sam Rockwell (Frost/Nixon) is also a pretty close match. The actor has already played a lot of sleazy characters, including the lead role in Choke, for which he was recently named one of the “most offensive male characters” of 2008 by the Women Film Critics Circle. Rockwell also has experience portraying a conceited and delusional celebrity in George Clooney’s Confessions of a Dangerous Mind. If that actor-director pair could link up again for this movie, Rockwell could certainly be looking at his first well-deserved Oscar nomination. Mary Lynn Rajskub as Patti Blogojevich Rockwell is a tad young for the role of Blogojevich, so it’s fair that we also aim younger in casting the actress to play Illinois’ First Lady. Few women are more perfect for the part than Mary Lynn Rajskub (TV’s 24), who is about 8 years Blogojevich’s junior, anyway. Talented for playing cranky and/or two-faced women (mainly we’re thinking of her character in Punch-Drunk Love), she would be excellent as the allegedly foul-mouthed wife of the Governor. Mario Van Peebles as U.S. Representative Jesse Jackson, Jr. Fittingly the son of an important African American leader (though being an icon of black cinema is admittedly not quite the same as being an icon of the civil rights movement), Mario Van Peebles (Ali) is conversely too old to play this part, especially since Jackson looks a lot younger than he is. But he’s a great, underrated actor (too good for All My Children, that’s for sure) and he could easily pull off a portrayal of the congressman, who was one of the contenders for Barack Obama’s now-vacant Senate seat, and who has apparently been a longtime informant to feds regarding Blagojevich’s shady dealings. Martin Donovan as U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald One idea for the part of the federal prosecutor in this case is Richard “John Boy” Thomas. He does look a little more like Fitzgerald, but Martin Donovan (Saved!)  got the Irish-American thing going for him, and it would be more interesting to see if he can do the Brooklyn accent. Plus, Donovan often works with Mary-Louise Parker, who would be perfect for the part of Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan if she were an included character in the film. Brian Cox (or Albert Finney) as Defense Attorney Ed Genson An immediate idea following a Google image search was to jokingly cast actor Kevin Scannell, who played wheelchair-bound lawyer “Gar Girard” in The Player. But as it turns out, contrary to most photos available on the web, Genson no longer has such a handicap. So, a more appropriate suggestion for the famously tough lawyer (often called “the bulldog of the court room”), who formerly won R. Kelly’s child-pornography trial and who will now defend Blagojevich, is The Bourne Identy’s Brian Cox (not ever called “the bulldog of cinema,” though he should be). Or, in the event that you too think he’s easily interchangeable with Cox, Albert Finney (The Bourne Ultimatum) would also be suitable. Whichever of the two is cast, he’ll have to either get Genson’s accent down or have his dialogue overdubbed by William Hurt. James Woods as Lt. Governor Pat Quinn He may not really look like Quinn, but James Woods (Ghosts of Mississippi) is terrific at changing his appearance for Oscar-worthy supporting roles. This might not be a big enough part for an actor of his stature, but he’d be great at aping the wide-eyed expressions Quinn does when speaking publicly. Stanley Tucci as Antoin “Tony” Rezko It’s not certain yet if convicted fundraiser Tony Rezko will be involved in Blagojevich’s trial, though his testimonial would serve the prosecution well. If he is a major player, then Stanley Tucci (The Devil Wears Prada), with a puffy makeup job and fake mustache, should fill the role. Although Tucci is not Syrian like Rezko, he did once play a Middle Eastern assassin in The Pelican Brief. William Petersen as John Harris As Blagojevich’s former Chief of Staff, who resigned from his position after his joint arrest with the governor last week, William Petersen (TV’s CSI) would callback to his similar role as a political scandal figure in The Contender. “The Football” as Itself One of the harshest punishments for Blagojevich would be for the feds to deny the Governor his beloved hairbrush, which is nicknamed “The Football” (after a term used for the president’s possession of bomb codes). Then, producers of the Blagojevich film should purchase the item for a cameo appearance. Because, as the Governor would declare, there’s no substitute for it. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog http://www.spout.com/groups/FilmCouch/Re_Question_from_FilmCouch_97_Are_there_any_pur/302/37584/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: mciocco
Post To: FilmCouch
Post Date: 11/24/2008 1:58:27 PM
Body: Spy movies have definitely gotten away from the sort of glamorous travelogues that the original Bond movies kinda were. Most portray the life as being a tough, gritty one filled with betrayal, sacrifice and other depressing stuff. Even the "action" subgenre of spy films has that sort of thing (i.e. Bourne features all sorts of stuff about how being the spy eats up your life, etc...) So some examples of recent, less actiony spy flicks that you haven't mentioned in the podcast or in your post would include: Traitor (2008 - can't find it with the link to a movie tool thingy) - This is the recent movie starring Don Cheadle. There is some action and it's actually pretty cliched, but it's somewhat entertaining and it's much more focused on the psychology of terrorists than the spy aspect of it... The Good Shepherd - Again, not at all glamorous, but this seems to be a dry recounting of early CIA machinations. I didn't much care for this movie, but it's not an action oriented spy film and the one thing I did like was the sorta brinkmanship between Matt Damon's character and his Soviet counterpart. Syriana - Not glamorous and another movie I didn't particularly love, but it's got some interesting non-action spy stuff going on (mostly in the Cloony plotline - the others are not as spy oriented). It's too bad the plot is so intentionally obtuse. I got the feeling that Gaghan was attempting to play obscurity and for depth here. Three Days of the Condor - Ok, so this isn't anywhere close to recent, but it's a pretty good spy story told from a non-action-oriented standpoint. But I also agree with your inclusion of Spy Game, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, and Breach, all of which I rather enjoyed (er, more than the films I listed above) I also thought of the Tom Clancy movies (Hunt for Red October, Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger, and yes, even The Sum of All Fears), but those might better be characterized as action movies (still, there's an inordinate amount of non-actiony stuff in those films that kinda works well). Another that jumped to mind was Sneakers, though I'm not sure you could really characterize that as a spy film... That's all for now, but I'm positive I'm leaving something out...
]]>Mon, 24 Nov 2008 18:58:27 GMTmcioccoFilmCouch11/24/2008 1:58:27 PMSpy movies have definitely gotten away from the sort of glamorous travelogues that the original Bond movies kinda were. Most portray the life as being a tough, gritty one filled with betrayal, sacrifice and other depressing stuff. Even the "action" subgenre of spy films has that sort of thing (i.e. Bourne features all sorts of stuff about how being the spy eats up your life, etc...) So some examples of recent, less actiony spy flicks that you haven't mentioned in the podcast or in your post would include: Traitor (2008 - can't find it with the link to a movie tool thingy) - This is the recent movie starring Don Cheadle. There is some action and it's actually pretty cliched, but it's somewhat entertaining and it's much more focused on the psychology of terrorists than the spy aspect of it... The Good Shepherd - Again, not at all glamorous, but this seems to be a dry recounting of early CIA machinations. I didn't much care for this movie, but it's not an action oriented spy film and the one thing I did like was the sorta brinkmanship between Matt Damon's character and his Soviet counterpart. Syriana - Not glamorous and another movie I didn't particularly love, but it's got some interesting non-action spy stuff going on (mostly in the Cloony plotline - the others are not as spy oriented). It's too bad the plot is so intentionally obtuse. I got the feeling that Gaghan was attempting to play obscurity and for depth here. Three Days of the Condor - Ok, so this isn't anywhere close to recent, but it's a pretty good spy story told from a non-action-oriented standpoint. But I also agree with your inclusion of Spy Game, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, and Breach, all of which I rather enjoyed (er, more than the films I listed above) I also thought of the Tom Clancy movies (Hunt for Red October, Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger, and yes, even The Sum of All Fears), but those might better be characterized as action movies (still, there's an inordinate amount of non-actiony stuff in those films that kinda works well). Another that jumped to mind was Sneakers, though I'm not sure you could really characterize that as a spy film... That's all for now, but I'm positive I'm leaving something out... http://www.spout.com/blogs/joem18b/archive/2008/11/23/37569.aspx Post By: joem18b
Post To: joem18b Blog
Post Date: 11/23/2008 10:04:39 PM
Body: I was jogging the other day, listening to Filmcouch #97, and the boys on the program asked whether there are any movies being made in the old spy genre anymore. Pure spy movies, as I think they put it. Or are we now left with, through evolutionary Hollywood transmogrification, only action spies (Bourne), humorous spoofy spies (Powers), and a few self-referential takes on the old genre, viz., The Constant Gardener.So for a few blocks I mentally recapitulated the efflorescence of the spy genre in the Sixties, as I remember it. Fleming, who started it all when JFK told an interviewer that he read the Bond books before bed at night, Len Deighton (Michael Caine as Quiller), the Flint movies. Richard Burton in the first La Carre effort.Then I spent a couple of blocks coming up with the following list:Spy Kids (2001, 2002)Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002)The Tailor of Panama (2001)Spy Game (2001)Breach (2007)Later I did a power search of 2000-2008 in IMDB for "spy" and "spies." Didn't see much.My conclusion: There was a period, beginning with Dr. No and ending, perhaps, with Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, (1979) and Smiley's People (1982), when a true (Bond-inspired) spy genre existed. Since then, from time to time, a movie involving spies appears, but only conforming to the conventions of the old genre, if at all, by accident. This is similar to comparing Hollywood genre romantic comedies (which conform to a strict set of rules) to French romantic comedies (which don't).
]]>Mon, 24 Nov 2008 03:04:39 GMTjoem18bjoem18b Blog11/23/2008 10:04:39 PMI was jogging the other day, listening to Filmcouch #97, and the boys on the program asked whether there are any movies being made in the old spy genre anymore. Pure spy movies, as I think they put it. Or are we now left with, through evolutionary Hollywood transmogrification, only action spies (Bourne), humorous spoofy spies (Powers), and a few self-referential takes on the old genre, viz., The Constant Gardener.So for a few blocks I mentally recapitulated the efflorescence of the spy genre in the Sixties, as I remember it. Fleming, who started it all when JFK told an interviewer that he read the Bond books before bed at night, Len Deighton (Michael Caine as Quiller), the Flint movies. Richard Burton in the first La Carre effort.Then I spent a couple of blocks coming up with the following list:Spy Kids (2001, 2002)Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002)The Tailor of Panama (2001)Spy Game (2001)Breach (2007)Later I did a power search of 2000-2008 in IMDB for "spy" and "spies." Didn't see much.My conclusion: There was a period, beginning with Dr. No and ending, perhaps, with Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, (1979) and Smiley's People (1982), when a true (Bond-inspired) spy genre existed. Since then, from time to time, a movie involving spies appears, but only conforming to the conventions of the old genre, if at all, by accident. This is similar to comparing Hollywood genre romantic comedies (which conform to a strict set of rules) to French romantic comedies (which don't). http://www.spout.com/groups/Bond_Beyond/Bond_vs_Bourne_you_decide/10/37499/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: csprague
Post To: Bond & Beyond
Post Date: 11/20/2008 3:11:00 PM
Body: So, if James Bond and Jason Bourne were to tangle, who would win? (you pick the Bond and the Bourne).
]]>Thu, 20 Nov 2008 20:11:00 GMTcspragueBond & Beyond11/20/2008 3:11:00 PMSo, if James Bond and Jason Bourne were to tangle, who would win? (you pick the Bond and the Bourne). http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/archive/2008/9/24/35507.aspx Post By: SpoutBlog
Post To: SpoutBlog on spout.com
Post Date: 9/24/2008 5:00:59 PM
Body: Yesterday I wrote of the news that Wanted director Timur Bekmambetov is helming an effects-heavy adaptation of Herman Melville’s Moby Dick. It’s not entirely shocking, but it does still seem like a cruel joke. More specifically, it sounds like something Jasper Fforde would jest about in his Thursday Next novels. Of course, the news came just as I’m in the middle of Fforde’s latest, First Among Sequels, in which Pride and Prejudice is turned into a reality TV show. Although I’m not exactly well read as far as literary classics go, I’ve been wondering what other revered books (particularly those in the public domain) could be reworked as potential summer blockbusters. Obviously, there are certain sci-fi, fantasy and adventure novels that work, yet the fitting fictions of Verne, Wells, Burroughs, Dumas and others are already fodder for cheap movies with lots of action and/or special effects. Therefore, I’ve tried to limit my choices to those books that aren’t such easy candidates for a Memorial Day weekend opening. 1. The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri Dante’s epic poem has inspired a few films over the years, including the hugely successful 1911 silent L’Inferno, but it’s about time for Hollywood to bastardize the otherworldly tale with lots of computer-generated visuals. Maybe you’re thinking that What Dreams Come already made some attempt at this, and it failed at the box office. Sure, but it was still an awesome spectacle of a film. Now, think of something similar starring Will Smith as Dante. And some rewrites to allow for more fight scenes (yes, even in Heaven). The poem will be divided into a trilogy of films, of course. 2. Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift Georges Méliès, the original visual-effects cinema showman, made the first adaptation of Swift’s satire, and a later version featured special effects from stop-motion master Ray Harryhausen. The last adaptation also had decent effects, at least for a TV miniseries, but it’s high time for a new big screen attempt, which shall employ all the latest effects innovations. And Will Ferrell. It should also have a more contemporary setting and lose all the allegory and commentary stuff. Nobody needs to be thinking about antiquated messages at the multiplex; they just want to watch giant people destroying little cities, pirate attacks and other straightforward spectacles. 3. Candide by Voltaire Similarly, Voltaire’s satire could be made into a more straightforward adventure through life’s calamities. And yet just by adhering to the basic plot, the main idea could still be communicated without making the audience think they’ve actually been made to think about it. It should probably be modernized, and it should probably star Shia LaBeouf. 4. Scaramouche by Rafael Sabatini I guess a modernization of this classic would seem like just any other movie about a man forced into hiding as an actor, and a more faithful adaptation would probably not feature a better swordfight than the one in MGM’s 1952 version. So, it should be reset in the future, should star James Franco, who is due for more action and more comedy, and be some kind of cross between Sister Act and Star Wars. 5. Oedipus Rex by Sophocles I’m picturing Nicolas Cage in yet another movie involving prophecies. Only in this one, he not only can’t avoid killing his father and mating with his mother, he also fails to save the world from an apocalypse. See, the movie is about how you can’t change your destiny, and it’s also about a lot of cool and disastrous destruction occurring at the film’s climax. 6. The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka Matt Damon is reunited with director Terry Gilliam for an absurd action movie that’s as much The Bourne Identity as it is The Metamorphosis. Damon plays Gregor, a man who wakes up one day to find he’s a giant bug. That’s about as far as Kafka’s story is retained. From there, he must go on the run while being chased by an organization of pest control operatives in an attempt to find out why he’s transformed and how he can return to human form. 7. Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson I know, it’s been filmed a billion times, and it’s technically one of those books I wanted to exclude on account of its ease in becoming a blockbuster. But here’s the thing: it would be completely different this time, and I don’t mean because it will be set in space. That’s already been done. No, instead, thanks to the success of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, the story of Jim Hawkins (Cameron Bright) and Long John Silver (Gerard Butler) will include some paranormal additions, courtesy of Hollywood’s idea of poetic license. 8. The Last Days of Pompeii by Edward Bulwer-Lytton I don’t know if this is still considered a classic, but as long as the adaptation of Robert Harris’ Pompeii book (which was once to be directed by Roman Polanski) is struggling to get made, now is the chance for some big producer to get a blockbuster made out of this book. And worse comes to worse, there ends up being competing Pompeii movies, which would fit in with the tradition of disaster movies anyway. 9. The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain In a way, this movie will just be a combo of Trading Places and Face/Off, but it will have that more respectable title and a less respectable script. And Nic Cage can again play twins. 10. Don Quixote by Cervantes Many of cinema’s greatest filmmakers have had the ambition to make a great adaptation of Cervantes’ masterpiece. And now it’s time for Michael Bay to admit he’d also like to give it a try. And with a big enough budget, he’ll succeed, though it won’t exactly be faithful to the book. Instead it will be about a man (Nic Cage again) who’s seen too many action movies and so, with great delusions, takes it upon himself to become an action hero. I can’t wait to watch all those windmills explode! Originally posted on:SpoutBlog
]]>Wed, 24 Sep 2008 21:00:59 GMTSpoutBlogSpoutBlog on spout.com9/24/2008 5:00:59 PMYesterday I wrote of the news that Wanted director Timur Bekmambetov is helming an effects-heavy adaptation of Herman Melville’s Moby Dick. It’s not entirely shocking, but it does still seem like a cruel joke. More specifically, it sounds like something Jasper Fforde would jest about in his Thursday Next novels. Of course, the news came just as I’m in the middle of Fforde’s latest, First Among Sequels, in which Pride and Prejudice is turned into a reality TV show. Although I’m not exactly well read as far as literary classics go, I’ve been wondering what other revered books (particularly those in the public domain) could be reworked as potential summer blockbusters. Obviously, there are certain sci-fi, fantasy and adventure novels that work, yet the fitting fictions of Verne, Wells, Burroughs, Dumas and others are already fodder for cheap movies with lots of action and/or special effects. Therefore, I’ve tried to limit my choices to those books that aren’t such easy candidates for a Memorial Day weekend opening. 1. The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri Dante’s epic poem has inspired a few films over the years, including the hugely successful 1911 silent L’Inferno, but it’s about time for Hollywood to bastardize the otherworldly tale with lots of computer-generated visuals. Maybe you’re thinking that What Dreams Come already made some attempt at this, and it failed at the box office. Sure, but it was still an awesome spectacle of a film. Now, think of something similar starring Will Smith as Dante. And some rewrites to allow for more fight scenes (yes, even in Heaven). The poem will be divided into a trilogy of films, of course. 2. Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift Georges Méliès, the original visual-effects cinema showman, made the first adaptation of Swift’s satire, and a later version featured special effects from stop-motion master Ray Harryhausen. The last adaptation also had decent effects, at least for a TV miniseries, but it’s high time for a new big screen attempt, which shall employ all the latest effects innovations. And Will Ferrell. It should also have a more contemporary setting and lose all the allegory and commentary stuff. Nobody needs to be thinking about antiquated messages at the multiplex; they just want to watch giant people destroying little cities, pirate attacks and other straightforward spectacles. 3. Candide by Voltaire Similarly, Voltaire’s satire could be made into a more straightforward adventure through life’s calamities. And yet just by adhering to the basic plot, the main idea could still be communicated without making the audience think they’ve actually been made to think about it. It should probably be modernized, and it should probably star Shia LaBeouf. 4. Scaramouche by Rafael Sabatini I guess a modernization of this classic would seem like just any other movie about a man forced into hiding as an actor, and a more faithful adaptation would probably not feature a better swordfight than the one in MGM’s 1952 version. So, it should be reset in the future, should star James Franco, who is due for more action and more comedy, and be some kind of cross between Sister Act and Star Wars. 5. Oedipus Rex by Sophocles I’m picturing Nicolas Cage in yet another movie involving prophecies. Only in this one, he not only can’t avoid killing his father and mating with his mother, he also fails to save the world from an apocalypse. See, the movie is about how you can’t change your destiny, and it’s also about a lot of cool and disastrous destruction occurring at the film’s climax. 6. The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka Matt Damon is reunited with director Terry Gilliam for an absurd action movie that’s as much The Bourne Identity as it is The Metamorphosis. Damon plays Gregor, a man who wakes up one day to find he’s a giant bug. That’s about as far as Kafka’s story is retained. From there, he must go on the run while being chased by an organization of pest control operatives in an attempt to find out why he’s transformed and how he can return to human form. 7. Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson I know, it’s been filmed a billion times, and it’s technically one of those books I wanted to exclude on account of its ease in becoming a blockbuster. But here’s the thing: it would be completely different this time, and I don’t mean because it will be set in space. That’s already been done. No, instead, thanks to the success of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, the story of Jim Hawkins (Cameron Bright) and Long John Silver (Gerard Butler) will include some paranormal additions, courtesy of Hollywood’s idea of poetic license. 8. The Last Days of Pompeii by Edward Bulwer-Lytton I don’t know if this is still considered a classic, but as long as the adaptation of Robert Harris’ Pompeii book (which was once to be directed by Roman Polanski) is struggling to get made, now is the chance for some big producer to get a blockbuster made out of this book. And worse comes to worse, there ends up being competing Pompeii movies, which would fit in with the tradition of disaster movies anyway. 9. The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain In a way, this movie will just be a combo of Trading Places and Face/Off, but it will have that more respectable title and a less respectable script. And Nic Cage can again play twins. 10. Don Quixote by Cervantes Many of cinema’s greatest filmmakers have had the ambition to make a great adaptation of Cervantes’ masterpiece. And now it’s time for Michael Bay to admit he’d also like to give it a try. And with a big enough budget, he’ll succeed, though it won’t exactly be faithful to the book. Instead it will be about a man (Nic Cage again) who’s seen too many action movies and so, with great delusions, takes it upon himself to become an action hero. I can’t wait to watch all those windmills explode! Originally posted on:SpoutBlog http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/archive/2008/6/26/31749.aspx Post By: SpoutBlog
Post To: SpoutBlog on spout.com
Post Date: 6/26/2008 5:00:43 PM
Body: Over the weekend, Wanted had a 100% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.com. It’s since gone down to 81% (at the time of this writing — and with top critics it’s down to 67%), though that’s still pretty good for a movie that initially looked like just another Matrix knockoff. But will the good reviews make for great box office? Last night, while viewing the latest trailer in a theater with some friends, I mentioned that Wanted was receiving great reviews. Nobody believed me at first, and then they didn’t care; they still thought it looked terrible. Good reviews rarely help an action movie, and bad reviews rarely deter audiences from seeing them. However, if we look at the top 5 most critically acclaimed action movies, it’s clear that people do often prefer a good action film to a bad one. The next 5, on the other hand… The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (2003) Rotten Tomatoes’ “T-Meter” score: 94% (top critics: 98%) All Time Domestic Box Office Rank: #9 ($377 million) Sample Critic Quote: “The film event of the millennium.” (Richard Corliss, Time) My Analysis: In terms of both reviews and gross, it is possible that, yes, this final LOTR film was the film event of the millennium only three years in. It even won the Oscar for Best Picture, as well as ten other Academy Awards. However, we do have a few hundred years left, and Corliss’ assessment is likely to be challenged one of these centuries. Casino Royale (2006) Rotten Tomatoes’ “T-Meter” score: 94% (top critics: 95%) All Time Domestic Box Office Rank: #133 ($167.5 million) Sample Critic Quote: “This is the best James Bond film in at least 17 years, and Daniel Craig might be the best 007 … ever.” (Eric D. Snider, EricDSnider.com) My Analysis: Most critics and audiences agreed that this was one of the best 007 films ever and that Craig was at least the best Bond since Connery. Still, it only grossed a mere $7 million more than Die Another Day, which was certified rotten by RT. The Bourne Ultimatum (2007) Rotten Tomatoes’ “T-Meter” score: 93% (top critics: 97%) All Time Domestic Box Office Rank: #62 ($227.5 million) Sample Critic Quote: “It is probably the best action films to date that doesn’t involved so much special effects.” (Wilson Morales, BlackFilm.com) My Analysis: I agree that it’s the best of the series and one of the best action movies in years, maybe even best to date not involving special effects, as Morales says. But really the only reason that Ultimatum is higher up on the b.o. charts than The Bourne Identity and The Bourne Supremacy is because people took awhile to get into the series, with many of Ultimatum’s audience having seen the previous two for the first time on DVD. Still, along with both Return of the King and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, it’s one of the rare threequels that earned the highest gross of its series. Considering Return, that says one thing, while considering Indy, that says something else. Spider-Man 2 (2004) Rotten Tomatoes’ “T-Meter” score: 93% (top critics: 95%) All Time Domestic Box Office Rank: #10 ($373.6 million) Sample Critic Quote: “[It's sure to] join the upper echelons of action movies like Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Empire Strikes Back, and Die Hard.” (Jeffrey Overstreet, Looking Closer) My Analysis: If this sequel were switched in ranking with its predecessor (see below), it might say something more about reviews equaling revenue, but otherwise between the two installments, there is evidence that good superhero movies will perform better than bad ones. Just don’t pay any attention to Spider-Man 3, which is also pretty close on the b.o. charts, but which is pretty far below in RT ranking (62%, whole; 44%, top critics). Iron Man (2008) Rotten Tomatoes’ “T-Meter” score: 93% (top critics: 92%) All Time Domestic Box Office Rank: #26 ($305.9 million and counting) Sample Critic Quote: “It’s the best movie of its kind since the second Spider-Man movie four years ago.” (Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle) My Analysis: Fitting to LaSalle’s quote that Iron Man is just behind Spider-Man 2, and with only another $70 million to go in order to be just behind it on the b.o. chart. Unfortunately, as far as ticket sales show, it’s really only the best movie of its kind since the third Spider-Man movie one year ago. Spy Kids (2001) Rotten Tomatoes’ “T-Meter” score: 92% (top critics: 96%) All Time Domestic Box Office Rank: #309 ($112.7 million) Sample Critic Quote: “To sum up, if you want your children to someday appreciate the true art of cinema, Spy Kids is a terrific movie to start with.” (Bob Strauss, Los Angeles Daily News) My Analysis: If by “true art of cinema” Strauss means the kind of action movies that receive good reviews, then he’s right. Film critics love the well-directed spy movies (see #2 and #3). As for kids, they don’t care about reviews, which explains why Alvin and the Chipmunks made almost double what Spy Kids grossed. Out of Sight (1998) Rotten Tomatoes’ “T-Meter” score: 92% (top critics: 90%) All Time Domestic Box Office Rank: #1,395 ($37.6 million) Sample Critic Quote: “In a summer filled with mega-hyped disappointments, Out of Sight proves the undeniable value of story, characterization, and — most of all — intelligence.” (Mike McGranaghan, Aisle Seat) My Analysis: The mega-hyped disappointments of that summer include Godzilla, which made about $100 million more than this film. Of course, Out of Sight isn’t really an action-packed action movie, and it only starred George Clooney, who despite being a huge movie star has never really been that big a box office draw. Meanwhile, 1998’s biggest box office winner, the more-action-packed Saving Private Ryan (which RT apparently doesn’t consider to be an action movie), was also one of the five best-reviewed films of the year. Hot Fuzz (2007) Rotten Tomatoes’ “T-Meter” score: 90% (top critics: 92%) All Time Domestic Box Office Rank: #2,029 ($23.6 million) Sample Critic Quote: “Hot Fuzz is everything an action-comedy should be. It achieves through parody what most films in the genre can’t accomplish straight.” (Nathan Rabin, The Onion A.V. Club) My Analysis: The best action buddy comedy in ten years, yet it’s gross is hardly comparable to the box office success of the Rush Hour movies, Bad Boys II, Lethal Weapon 4 and … Starsky & Hutch? Even Jimmy Fallon’s Taxi performed better domestically. Rescue Dawn (2006) Rotten Tomatoes’ “T-Meter” score: 90% (top critics: 88%) All Time Domestic Box Office Rank: #3,970 ($5.5 million) Sample Critic Quote: “A potentially commercial audience-pleaser that retains all of the characteristic Herzog complexity and nuance, Rescue Dawn is an electrifying action adventure that clamps your nerves with jaws of steel.” (Rex Reed, New York Observer) My Analysis: Too bad more moviegoers don’t read Rex Reed, because that’s a mighty good sell. Unfortunately, Rescue Dawn suffered a double blow because of who directed it. Critics certainly overpraised it, just because it’s an Herzog film; audiences likely avoided it because of the same reason (not by name, but had it opened bigger right away, audiences wouldn’t have even noticed the art house connection and might have gone to see the new action movie starring “Batman”). Spider-Man (2002) Rotten Tomatoes’ “T-Meter” score: 90% (top critics: 85%) All Time Domestic Box Office Rank: #7 ($403.7 million) Sample Critic Quote: “Let the gauntlet be thrown: Spider-Man may be the best comic adaptation of all time.” (Todd Gilchrest, FilmStew.com) My Analysis: In terms of box office receipts, it is indeed the best comic adaptation of all time. But as we see by two titles above, it’s since been beat in terms of critical acclaim, just in this decade alone (and from earlier, at least Superman: The Movie has a better RT score). Still, it would almost be evidence that critics and box office can sometimes go hand in hand if it weren’t for that certified rotten movie that ranks just above it on the box office chart: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog
]]>Thu, 26 Jun 2008 21:00:43 GMTSpoutBlogSpoutBlog on spout.com6/26/2008 5:00:43 PMOver the weekend, Wanted had a 100% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.com. It’s since gone down to 81% (at the time of this writing — and with top critics it’s down to 67%), though that’s still pretty good for a movie that initially looked like just another Matrix knockoff. But will the good reviews make for great box office? Last night, while viewing the latest trailer in a theater with some friends, I mentioned that Wanted was receiving great reviews. Nobody believed me at first, and then they didn’t care; they still thought it looked terrible. Good reviews rarely help an action movie, and bad reviews rarely deter audiences from seeing them. However, if we look at the top 5 most critically acclaimed action movies, it’s clear that people do often prefer a good action film to a bad one. The next 5, on the other hand… The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (2003) Rotten Tomatoes’ “T-Meter” score: 94% (top critics: 98%) All Time Domestic Box Office Rank: #9 ($377 million) Sample Critic Quote: “The film event of the millennium.” (Richard Corliss, Time) My Analysis: In terms of both reviews and gross, it is possible that, yes, this final LOTR film was the film event of the millennium only three years in. It even won the Oscar for Best Picture, as well as ten other Academy Awards. However, we do have a few hundred years left, and Corliss’ assessment is likely to be challenged one of these centuries. Casino Royale (2006) Rotten Tomatoes’ “T-Meter” score: 94% (top critics: 95%) All Time Domestic Box Office Rank: #133 ($167.5 million) Sample Critic Quote: “This is the best James Bond film in at least 17 years, and Daniel Craig might be the best 007 … ever.” (Eric D. Snider, EricDSnider.com) My Analysis: Most critics and audiences agreed that this was one of the best 007 films ever and that Craig was at least the best Bond since Connery. Still, it only grossed a mere $7 million more than Die Another Day, which was certified rotten by RT. The Bourne Ultimatum (2007) Rotten Tomatoes’ “T-Meter” score: 93% (top critics: 97%) All Time Domestic Box Office Rank: #62 ($227.5 million) Sample Critic Quote: “It is probably the best action films to date that doesn’t involved so much special effects.” (Wilson Morales, BlackFilm.com) My Analysis: I agree that it’s the best of the series and one of the best action movies in years, maybe even best to date not involving special effects, as Morales says. But really the only reason that Ultimatum is higher up on the b.o. charts than The Bourne Identity and The Bourne Supremacy is because people took awhile to get into the series, with many of Ultimatum’s audience having seen the previous two for the first time on DVD. Still, along with both Return of the King and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, it’s one of the rare threequels that earned the highest gross of its series. Considering Return, that says one thing, while considering Indy, that says something else. Spider-Man 2 (2004) Rotten Tomatoes’ “T-Meter” score: 93% (top critics: 95%) All Time Domestic Box Office Rank: #10 ($373.6 million) Sample Critic Quote: “[It's sure to] join the upper echelons of action movies like Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Empire Strikes Back, and Die Hard.” (Jeffrey Overstreet, Looking Closer) My Analysis: If this sequel were switched in ranking with its predecessor (see below), it might say something more about reviews equaling revenue, but otherwise between the two installments, there is evidence that good superhero movies will perform better than bad ones. Just don’t pay any attention to Spider-Man 3, which is also pretty close on the b.o. charts, but which is pretty far below in RT ranking (62%, whole; 44%, top critics). Iron Man (2008) Rotten Tomatoes’ “T-Meter” score: 93% (top critics: 92%) All Time Domestic Box Office Rank: #26 ($305.9 million and counting) Sample Critic Quote: “It’s the best movie of its kind since the second Spider-Man movie four years ago.” (Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle) My Analysis: Fitting to LaSalle’s quote that Iron Man is just behind Spider-Man 2, and with only another $70 million to go in order to be just behind it on the b.o. chart. Unfortunately, as far as ticket sales show, it’s really only the best movie of its kind since the third Spider-Man movie one year ago. Spy Kids (2001) Rotten Tomatoes’ “T-Meter” score: 92% (top critics: 96%) All Time Domestic Box Office Rank: #309 ($112.7 million) Sample Critic Quote: “To sum up, if you want your children to someday appreciate the true art of cinema, Spy Kids is a terrific movie to start with.” (Bob Strauss, Los Angeles Daily News) My Analysis: If by “true art of cinema” Strauss means the kind of action movies that receive good reviews, then he’s right. Film critics love the well-directed spy movies (see #2 and #3). As for kids, they don’t care about reviews, which explains why Alvin and the Chipmunks made almost double what Spy Kids grossed. Out of Sight (1998) Rotten Tomatoes’ “T-Meter” score: 92% (top critics: 90%) All Time Domestic Box Office Rank: #1,395 ($37.6 million) Sample Critic Quote: “In a summer filled with mega-hyped disappointments, Out of Sight proves the undeniable value of story, characterization, and — most of all — intelligence.” (Mike McGranaghan, Aisle Seat) My Analysis: The mega-hyped disappointments of that summer include Godzilla, which made about $100 million more than this film. Of course, Out of Sight isn’t really an action-packed action movie, and it only starred George Clooney, who despite being a huge movie star has never really been that big a box office draw. Meanwhile, 1998’s biggest box office winner, the more-action-packed Saving Private Ryan (which RT apparently doesn’t consider to be an action movie), was also one of the five best-reviewed films of the year. Hot Fuzz (2007) Rotten Tomatoes’ “T-Meter” score: 90% (top critics: 92%) All Time Domestic Box Office Rank: #2,029 ($23.6 million) Sample Critic Quote: “Hot Fuzz is everything an action-comedy should be. It achieves through parody what most films in the genre can’t accomplish straight.” (Nathan Rabin, The Onion A.V. Club) My Analysis: The best action buddy comedy in ten years, yet it’s gross is hardly comparable to the box office success of the Rush Hour movies, Bad Boys II, Lethal Weapon 4 and … Starsky & Hutch? Even Jimmy Fallon’s Taxi performed better domestically. Rescue Dawn (2006) Rotten Tomatoes’ “T-Meter” score: 90% (top critics: 88%) All Time Domestic Box Office Rank: #3,970 ($5.5 million) Sample Critic Quote: “A potentially commercial audience-pleaser that retains all of the characteristic Herzog complexity and nuance, Rescue Dawn is an electrifying action adventure that clamps your nerves with jaws of steel.” (Rex Reed, New York Observer) My Analysis: Too bad more moviegoers don’t read Rex Reed, because that’s a mighty good sell. Unfortunately, Rescue Dawn suffered a double blow because of who directed it. Critics certainly overpraised it, just because it’s an Herzog film; audiences likely avoided it because of the same reason (not by name, but had it opened bigger right away, audiences wouldn’t have even noticed the art house connection and might have gone to see the new action movie starring “Batman”). Spider-Man (2002) Rotten Tomatoes’ “T-Meter” score: 90% (top critics: 85%) All Time Domestic Box Office Rank: #7 ($403.7 million) Sample Critic Quote: “Let the gauntlet be thrown: Spider-Man may be the best comic adaptation of all time.” (Todd Gilchrest, FilmStew.com) My Analysis: In terms of box office receipts, it is indeed the best comic adaptation of all time. But as we see by two titles above, it’s since been beat in terms of critical acclaim, just in this decade alone (and from earlier, at least Superman: The Movie has a better RT score). Still, it would almost be evidence that critics and box office can sometimes go hand in hand if it weren’t for that certified rotten movie that ranks just above it on the box office chart: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/archive/2008/6/16/31288.aspx Post By: SpoutBlog
Post To: SpoutBlog on spout.com
Post Date: 6/16/2008 5:01:14 PM
Body: The best time for a Get Smart movie would have been the late ’60s, when the original television series was still on the air. In fact, there was a theatrical Get Smart film in the works during the run of the show, but it was canceled when the theatrical release of Munster, Go Home! bombed at the box office. Many years later, in 1980, a Get Smart feature titled The Nude Bomb was released to theaters, but it also performed poorly. Now we’re getting a remake version starring Steve Carell in the role that was so iconically defined by the late Don Adams. Will it do the show justice? Reportedly the budget was $80 million, a significant amount of which was probably put towards pointless effects. But the best thing Warner Bros. could have done with that money is to give a large amount to series creators Mel Brooks and Buck Henry, who probably even today could churn out a better script than Failure to Launch scribes Tom J. Astle and Matt Ember. Despite its lack of original Get Smart talent, though, it could still be marginally funny. Yet the real problem is that it may be too outdated and obsolete for audiences to care. In the four decades since the show went off the air, there has been plenty of similar-themed movies, from spy spoofs to films with bumbling heroes. The following ten titles are the best evidence of why this new Get Smart movie is completely unnecessary: Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery - It’s interesting that Get Smart is going up against a Mike Myers movie this weekend, because in a way it’s also going up against Myers’ Austin Powers movies, as well. Sure, spy parodies have been around in spades since around the time of the first James Bond movie, but nothing has been as popular as this series, which of course includes the much bigger-grossing sequels, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me and Austin Powers in Goldmember. Inspector Gadget - The original animated series was based on Get Smart and even featured the voice of Don Adams. Also like Get Smart, it was remade into a feature film with a different cast. However, it did find room to employ both Adams (as the voice of the dog, Brain) and Andy Dick (who had played Maxwell Smart’s son in a 1990s Get Smart series). Regardless, it was still a failure, both in terms of its box office gross and the way it ruined our childhood memory of the beloved cartoon. Perhaps if the Get Smart movie is good enough, then it could make up for Inspector Gadget (and its sequel), but it would have to be really, really good. The Pink Panther - You might say that Get Smart came about as a response to both the Bond films and the original Pink Panther movies, which featured a bumbling police inspector instead of a bumbling spy. The recent remake of The Pink Panther already showed us that some characters should really be forever remembered by their most iconic portrayer. In this case Steve Martin was nothing compared to Peter Sellers, while in the case of Get Smart, Steve Carell is only muddying the memory of Don Adams. Even if he does a good job, he’s just not the real Maxwell Smart. He should just be in another lame generic spy spoof instead. Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgandy - Want to see Steve Carell act clueless? Watch Anchorman again, because he can’t top his performance as Brick Tamland. “I love lamp.” The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! - The show Police Squad was in a way like Get Smart, only with a clueless detective rather than a clueless spy (I guess it could be seen as more like The Pink Panther then?). Fortunately that series only took a few years to spin-off a feature film, and thanks to the genius of Jim Abrahams and the Zucker Bros., who are almost equal in spoofing ability to Mel Brooks, it is funnier than any single episode or film of Get Smart can be without Brooks’ involvement. Spy Hard - Leslie Nielsen starred as the bumbling detective in the Naked Gun movies and then later played a bumbling spy in this spoof. The result: if Nielsen hadn’t already supplanted the Maxwell Smart character earlier, he did so here, even if really, really poorly. The Man Who Knew Too Little - More clueless spy stuff, this one an underrated movie starring Bill Murray. It actually made less money than The Nude Bomb (even without an inflation adjustment), but I enjoyed it a lot, probably more than I’ll enjoy Get Smart. Johnny English - Yep, I’m still just listing the other recent spy spoofs. But, really, there’s a point. When even Rowan Atkinson has done the bumbling spy bit, it’s time to hang up on the idea. I Spy - Did I already point out that #s 6-10 are more spy comedies? And there’s a lot that I’m not even including! This one is significant because it’s also based on a hit TV series. And it was a huge bomb. Spies Like Us - The thing I like best about the original Get Smart, as well as a number of the films on this list, is that the incompetent hero isn’t really aware of how incompetent he really is. The best movie to utilize this premise, though, has to be Spies Like Us. But that movie came out toward the end of the Cold War, when spy stuff was seeming ridiculously outdated. Comparatively, Get Smart arrives post 9/11, when the fact that American intelligence is incompetent is not so funny anymore. I think that now audiences would much prefer to see more serious spy films, like the Bond reboot Casino Royale (note the significance of this film being kind of a remake of a Bond parody) and the Bourne Identity franchise. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog
]]>Mon, 16 Jun 2008 21:01:14 GMTSpoutBlogSpoutBlog on spout.com6/16/2008 5:01:14 PMThe best time for a Get Smart movie would have been the late ’60s, when the original television series was still on the air. In fact, there was a theatrical Get Smart film in the works during the run of the show, but it was canceled when the theatrical release of Munster, Go Home! bombed at the box office. Many years later, in 1980, a Get Smart feature titled The Nude Bomb was released to theaters, but it also performed poorly. Now we’re getting a remake version starring Steve Carell in the role that was so iconically defined by the late Don Adams. Will it do the show justice? Reportedly the budget was $80 million, a significant amount of which was probably put towards pointless effects. But the best thing Warner Bros. could have done with that money is to give a large amount to series creators Mel Brooks and Buck Henry, who probably even today could churn out a better script than Failure to Launch scribes Tom J. Astle and Matt Ember. Despite its lack of original Get Smart talent, though, it could still be marginally funny. Yet the real problem is that it may be too outdated and obsolete for audiences to care. In the four decades since the show went off the air, there has been plenty of similar-themed movies, from spy spoofs to films with bumbling heroes. The following ten titles are the best evidence of why this new Get Smart movie is completely unnecessary: Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery - It’s interesting that Get Smart is going up against a Mike Myers movie this weekend, because in a way it’s also going up against Myers’ Austin Powers movies, as well. Sure, spy parodies have been around in spades since around the time of the first James Bond movie, but nothing has been as popular as this series, which of course includes the much bigger-grossing sequels, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me and Austin Powers in Goldmember. Inspector Gadget - The original animated series was based on Get Smart and even featured the voice of Don Adams. Also like Get Smart, it was remade into a feature film with a different cast. However, it did find room to employ both Adams (as the voice of the dog, Brain) and Andy Dick (who had played Maxwell Smart’s son in a 1990s Get Smart series). Regardless, it was still a failure, both in terms of its box office gross and the way it ruined our childhood memory of the beloved cartoon. Perhaps if the Get Smart movie is good enough, then it could make up for Inspector Gadget (and its sequel), but it would have to be really, really good. The Pink Panther - You might say that Get Smart came about as a response to both the Bond films and the original Pink Panther movies, which featured a bumbling police inspector instead of a bumbling spy. The recent remake of The Pink Panther already showed us that some characters should really be forever remembered by their most iconic portrayer. In this case Steve Martin was nothing compared to Peter Sellers, while in the case of Get Smart, Steve Carell is only muddying the memory of Don Adams. Even if he does a good job, he’s just not the real Maxwell Smart. He should just be in another lame generic spy spoof instead. Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgandy - Want to see Steve Carell act clueless? Watch Anchorman again, because he can’t top his performance as Brick Tamland. “I love lamp.” The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! - The show Police Squad was in a way like Get Smart, only with a clueless detective rather than a clueless spy (I guess it could be seen as more like The Pink Panther then?). Fortunately that series only took a few years to spin-off a feature film, and thanks to the genius of Jim Abrahams and the Zucker Bros., who are almost equal in spoofing ability to Mel Brooks, it is funnier than any single episode or film of Get Smart can be without Brooks’ involvement. Spy Hard - Leslie Nielsen starred as the bumbling detective in the Naked Gun movies and then later played a bumbling spy in this spoof. The result: if Nielsen hadn’t already supplanted the Maxwell Smart character earlier, he did so here, even if really, really poorly. The Man Who Knew Too Little - More clueless spy stuff, this one an underrated movie starring Bill Murray. It actually made less money than The Nude Bomb (even without an inflation adjustment), but I enjoyed it a lot, probably more than I’ll enjoy Get Smart. Johnny English - Yep, I’m still just listing the other recent spy spoofs. But, really, there’s a point. When even Rowan Atkinson has done the bumbling spy bit, it’s time to hang up on the idea. I Spy - Did I already point out that #s 6-10 are more spy comedies? And there’s a lot that I’m not even including! This one is significant because it’s also based on a hit TV series. And it was a huge bomb. Spies Like Us - The thing I like best about the original Get Smart, as well as a number of the films on this list, is that the incompetent hero isn’t really aware of how incompetent he really is. The best movie to utilize this premise, though, has to be Spies Like Us. But that movie came out toward the end of the Cold War, when spy stuff was seeming ridiculously outdated. Comparatively, Get Smart arrives post 9/11, when the fact that American intelligence is incompetent is not so funny anymore. I think that now audiences would much prefer to see more serious spy films, like the Bond reboot Casino Royale (note the significance of this film being kind of a remake of a Bond parody) and the Bourne Identity franchise. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog http://www.spout.com/blogs/jj79/archive/2008/6/6/30708.aspx Post By: JJ79
Post To: JJ79 Blog
Post Date: 6/6/2008 3:28:17 PM
Body: Released: June 6, 2002 (premiere)Director: Doug Liman*****After waking up in the middle of the ocean with two bullet holes in his back and no memory, Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) struggles to piece together his life...just as that life is in danger. The most surprising thing about this film about a man who doesn't know himself is the lack of dialogue in the two hour running time. While it is an important part of the film, the action is even more important. The sequences-which are gadget and (mostly) special effects free- are inspired, creating the illusion Bourne is a real person, not fictional. Car chases be damned; all the hand to hand battles are mini-ballets, painstakingly choreographed so as to not betray their artificial origins.What really sets Bourne's adventure apart from other spy films is the methodology the main character uses. There aren't side trips of people with no connection to the story. Each piece works independently and together with the other parts in order to move Bourne from A to B to C and so on. The story itself doesn't linger on any location other than where Bourne is for too long a time. In fact, the snippets away from Jason and his female companion Marie (Franka Potente) are kept mercifully brief, no more than three minutes. That simple fact demonstrates the scriptwriters knew where their focus needed to be for the audience to stay involved.There is a conspiracy plot hinted at in dribs and drabs until the finale which, I assume, is carried through to the second and third films. Even if this was the only film in the series, the ending wraps up the story without suggesting "more" is waiting to be told. It demonstrates the tightness and care with which the film was adapted from the novel by Robert Ludlum. Damon, as Bourne, is more than the pretty face he's been accused of being. He brings anger, insecurity, mystery and even vulnerability to the part. His character is the anti-Bond: he doesn't have sex indiscriminately, fire off quips like gun rounds or have a wealth of toys to play with. Bourne is someone who could exist in real life.Armed with a solid supporting cast including Potente, Brian Cox and Chris Cooper, The Bourne Identity is the smart, pared down version of James Bond. The story relies on the audience keeping up with it and becoming emotionally invested in knowing who Bourne is. Damon seemingly doesn't break a sweat no matter what he's doing or how close he comes to dying. He is the reason the film works as well as it does. We believe in him.
]]>Fri, 06 Jun 2008 19:28:17 GMTJJ79JJ79 Blog6/6/2008 3:28:17 PMReleased: June 6, 2002 (premiere)Director: Doug Liman*****After waking up in the middle of the ocean with two bullet holes in his back and no memory, Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) struggles to piece together his life...just as that life is in danger. The most surprising thing about this film about a man who doesn't know himself is the lack of dialogue in the two hour running time. While it is an important part of the film, the action is even more important. The sequences-which are gadget and (mostly) special effects free- are inspired, creating the illusion Bourne is a real person, not fictional. Car chases be damned; all the hand to hand battles are mini-ballets, painstakingly choreographed so as to not betray their artificial origins.What really sets Bourne's adventure apart from other spy films is the methodology the main character uses. There aren't side trips of people with no connection to the story. Each piece works independently and together with the other parts in order to move Bourne from A to B to C and so on. The story itself doesn't linger on any location other than where Bourne is for too long a time. In fact, the snippets away from Jason and his female companion Marie (Franka Potente) are kept mercifully brief, no more than three minutes. That simple fact demonstrates the scriptwriters knew where their focus needed to be for the audience to stay involved.There is a conspiracy plot hinted at in dribs and drabs until the finale which, I assume, is carried through to the second and third films. Even if this was the only film in the series, the ending wraps up the story without suggesting "more" is waiting to be told. It demonstrates the tightness and care with which the film was adapted from the novel by Robert Ludlum. Damon, as Bourne, is more than the pretty face he's been accused of being. He brings anger, insecurity, mystery and even vulnerability to the part. His character is the anti-Bond: he doesn't have sex indiscriminately, fire off quips like gun rounds or have a wealth of toys to play with. Bourne is someone who could exist in real life.Armed with a solid supporting cast including Potente, Brian Cox and Chris Cooper, The Bourne Identity is the smart, pared down version of James Bond. The story relies on the audience keeping up with it and becoming emotionally invested in knowing who Bourne is. Damon seemingly doesn't break a sweat no matter what he's doing or how close he comes to dying. He is the reason the film works as well as it does. We believe in him. http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/archive/2008/6/4/30500.aspx Post By: SpoutBlog
Post To: SpoutBlog on spout.com
Post Date: 6/4/2008 4:00:49 PM
Body: Over at the AMC blog SciFi Scanner, there’s a post about the accuracy of Jason Bourne’s condition in the Bourne movies. At the World Science Festival, held last weekend in NYC, there was a panel titled The Brain and Bourne: Neuroscience in the Bourne Trilogy that featured Bourne Identity director Doug Liman and psychiatrist and neuroscientist Giulio Tononi. And according to Tononi, the sort of amnesia that Bourne suffers from, which includes the ability to retain certain skills despite an overall loss of memory, is rare but does exist. Interesting, but does it really matter? Nobody making the Bourne movies seems to have known its accuracy, and they probably didn’t care. And neither do most moviegoers. Amnesia is simply a good plot device for movies, and oftentimes they’re more about something else than the condition, accurate or not. So, here’s a list of some of my favorite movies with amnesia at its forefront, plus the respective reasons for my not caring if they are realistic or not. The Bourne Identity (plus The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum) - Because I’m not rating these in order, I’ll begin with the one already mentioned. Jason Bourne’s amnesia is, of course, a good excuse for a thrilling story, but to me it’s also a metaphor for U.S. intelligence post-Cold War and certainly post-9/11, showing us how, despite efforts to forget or disconnect from foreign policy decisions and/or controversial operations of the past, certain things, people, relationships (etc.) may come back to bite us on the ass. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - I’m pretty sure that Tononi couldn’t find accuracy in the forced-amnesia process featured in this admittedly fantastical film, and again it wouldn’t matter if he could. The idea of surgically eliminating specific memories is representative of our more general attempts to immediately forget an unsuccessful romantic relationship and the eventual difficulty of trying to recall good times associated with a past love we’re no longer with. Memento - Here’s a film that supposedly is, like the Bourne trilogy, fairly accurate. But as a device, the amnesia is so much more interesting than as a real condition. I’ve read that it’s a metaphor for “forgetting everything we hold dear when humans embark on a quest and want to succeed at any cost,” and that (courtesy of Simon Cowell) it’s a metaphor for America’s attention span. I’m undecided on which of these I prefer, or if I’d even go with another (there’s surely more ideas out there), but the point is that it doesn’t just have to be about a guy with anterograde amnesia. Overboard - While on the surface it’s an innocent comedy about a single father who takes advantage of an amnesiac woman of wealth. But it can also be read as a male fantasy in which the feminist movement is forgotten and women return to the pleasures of homemaking … even after they regain their memory. For a sort of reverse of this plot, see Desperately Seeking Susan, in which a housewife loses her memory only to become her fantasy: the liberated, sexually independent woman (as perfectly portrayed by Madonna). Amateur - Not the first and probably not the best example, but a personal favorite movie dealing with the bad man who’s turned good through amnesia. It’s a more abstract tale of identity reinvention than others, and Roger Ebert said it best in his review that it’s a movie in which the idea of the plot is more interesting than the plot itself. Most of the film’s characters are attempting to drastically change their lives, but unfortunately not everyone can have the fortune of suffering an amnesia-inducing blow to the head. Other favorites include Spellbound, The Muppets Take Manhattan and Total Recall. Certainly I’m excluding a good number of amnesia films, most of which I’ve likely never seen (or, appropriately, I’ve forgotten about them). For a much more comprehensive examination of amnesia at the movies, check out this article written by clinical neuropsychologist Sallie Baxendale. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog
]]>Wed, 04 Jun 2008 20:00:49 GMTSpoutBlogSpoutBlog on spout.com6/4/2008 4:00:49 PM Over at the AMC blog SciFi Scanner, there’s a post about the accuracy of Jason Bourne’s condition in the Bourne movies. At the World Science Festival, held last weekend in NYC, there was a panel titled The Brain and Bourne: Neuroscience in the Bourne Trilogy that featured Bourne Identity director Doug Liman and psychiatrist and neuroscientist Giulio Tononi. And according to Tononi, the sort of amnesia that Bourne suffers from, which includes the ability to retain certain skills despite an overall loss of memory, is rare but does exist. Interesting, but does it really matter? Nobody making the Bourne movies seems to have known its accuracy, and they probably didn’t care. And neither do most moviegoers. Amnesia is simply a good plot device for movies, and oftentimes they’re more about something else than the condition, accurate or not. So, here’s a list of some of my favorite movies with amnesia at its forefront, plus the respective reasons for my not caring if they are realistic or not. The Bourne Identity (plus The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum) - Because I’m not rating these in order, I’ll begin with the one already mentioned. Jason Bourne’s amnesia is, of course, a good excuse for a thrilling story, but to me it’s also a metaphor for U.S. intelligence post-Cold War and certainly post-9/11, showing us how, despite efforts to forget or disconnect from foreign policy decisions and/or controversial operations of the past, certain things, people, relationships (etc.) may come back to bite us on the ass. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - I’m pretty sure that Tononi couldn’t find accuracy in the forced-amnesia process featured in this admittedly fantastical film, and again it wouldn’t matter if he could. The idea of surgically eliminating specific memories is representative of our more general attempts to immediately forget an unsuccessful romantic relationship and the eventual difficulty of trying to recall good times associated with a past love we’re no longer with. Memento - Here’s a film that supposedly is, like the Bourne trilogy, fairly accurate. But as a device, the amnesia is so much more interesting than as a real condition. I’ve read that it’s a metaphor for “forgetting everything we hold dear when humans embark on a quest and want to succeed at any cost,” and that (courtesy of Simon Cowell) it’s a metaphor for America’s attention span. I’m undecided on which of these I prefer, or if I’d even go with another (there’s surely more ideas out there), but the point is that it doesn’t just have to be about a guy with anterograde amnesia. Overboard - While on the surface it’s an innocent comedy about a single father who takes advantage of an amnesiac woman of wealth. But it can also be read as a male fantasy in which the feminist movement is forgotten and women return to the pleasures of homemaking … even after they regain their memory. For a sort of reverse of this plot, see Desperately Seeking Susan, in which a housewife loses her memory only to become her fantasy: the liberated, sexually independent woman (as perfectly portrayed by Madonna). Amateur - Not the first and probably not the best example, but a personal favorite movie dealing with the bad man who’s turned good through amnesia. It’s a more abstract tale of identity reinvention than others, and Roger Ebert said it best in his review that it’s a movie in which the idea of the plot is more interesting than the plot itself. Most of the film’s characters are attempting to drastically change their lives, but unfortunately not everyone can have the fortune of suffering an amnesia-inducing blow to the head. Other favorites include Spellbound, The Muppets Take Manhattan and Total Recall. Certainly I’m excluding a good number of amnesia films, most of which I’ve likely never seen (or, appropriately, I’ve forgotten about them). For a much more comprehensive examination of amnesia at the movies, check out this article written by clinical neuropsychologist Sallie Baxendale. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/Loved-It/MemberTagFilms.aspxLoved-It
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