The FilmJabber Movie Blog

Johnny Depp is being rumored to replace Heath Ledger in the upcoming Terry Gilliam movie The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, which begs the question: if a leading actor dies, what should happen to the film?

My personal belief is that a movie shouldn’t die based on one man alone. After all, there are hundreds of other people involved in the making of a film, and as tragic as Heath Ledger’s death was, should all their work be put to waste? Furthermore, what about the guy who wrote the movie? How would you feel if your work was about to be put into action and then it was stopped indefinitely.

The current status of the The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus movie is that it is on hold, but I’m sure we’ll see an incarnation of it at some point or another. Despite my belief above, according to MovieWeb, filming of the picture was almost complete, which begs another question:

What do you do with all that footage? Obviously, it will be released at some point or another, but if filming was nearly complete, does it make sense to redo all of his scenes with another actor or do something else (CGI, stand-in, what?). Some options might be disrespectful, others financially or artfully inappropriate, but if filming was almost complete, what makes the most sense?

In a recent Sun Times article, co-star Christopher Plummer said that there may be a way to salvage the film without Heath Ledger:Terry Gilliam is “trying to work out at this moment how to continue on. Fortunately, because the film deals with magic, there is a way, perhaps, of turning Heath into other people.”

So what will happen? Who knows. What should happen? I think they should try as hard as they can to finish the film without replacing him. Hell, turn the movie into a homage for Heath Ledger and have someone else play his remaining scenes. Terry Gilliam sure has a tough decision on his hands.

Some people are excited for 2009′s action movie G.I. Joe. After all, the movie is based on one of the most popular and iconic television shows of the 1980′s. There are millions of fanboys drooling over the release of this film (Garth, you reading?). And, other than the fact U.S. foreign policy is hated by most countries right now (the movie rectifies this by making G.I. Joe an international task force), a movie such as this is prime for the making.

However, you do realize G.I. Joe is going to suck, right? And when I say “suck”, I mean you are going to want to stick a vacuum cleaner inside your own skull and suck whatever remnants of your brain you have left. It’s going to be that bad.

Yes, the G.I. Joe movie is being directed by Stephen Sommers. This is old news, but as more and more casting developments emerge (Channing Tatum as Duke, Arnold Vosloo as Zartan), I finally realized who was masterminding the film. Sommers isn’t Uwe Boll, of course, but in terms of influence, power and reach, he is much, much worse. Unlike Uwe Boll’s films, which are terrible beyond belief but generally make a few million dollars in sales before disappearing into the night, Stephen Sommers movies actually make a ton of money.

Still holding out hope? Let me remind you that Stephen Sommers directed The Mummy. Okay, that one wasn’t that bad, if you like mindless entertainment. But he also directed The Mummy Returns, which is one of the worst movies I have ever seen. Disagree with me on that? Tell me you liked the ending, where Brenden Fraser escapes the sandstorm and the little monkey mummies via a crude airship that showed up out nowhere to unleash upon the audience some of the most terrible special effects of the modern blockbuster. Come on, tell me you liked that ending! (if you did, I shake my head in pity) Oh, and Stephen Sommers also directed Van Helsing, another disaster of an action film that also featured some pretty lousy special effects.

And they put this man in charge of G.I. Joe, one of your childhood favorites. I feel your pain, I really do, but yes, G.I. Joe is going to suck big time.

Here are a couple cool-looking movie pictures for the upcoming Will Smith movie called Hancock. In the action-comedy, he plays a superhero with destructive capabilities.

Peter Jackson may not be directing the upcoming Hobbit movies, but New Line may have found an even better director to take his place. According to The Hollywood Reporter, The Hobbit movies – the book is somehow being split into two films – will be directed by none other than Guillermo Del Toro. Del Toro is best known for the award-winning film Pan’s Labyrinth, as well as Hellboy. Needless to say, Guillermo Del Toro is no stranger to fantasy OR fanboy films. Del Toro is in talks to direct, which means nothing has been finalized – but usually, when someone is “in talks”, it means they’re going to take the project.

As I’m sure you know, The Hobbit is a prequel to J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and is one of the most anticipated projects of the next three years. Concerns were raised when Peter Jackson backed out after a rather bitter contract dispute, but those same concerns were alleviated when New Line and MGM managed to come to peace with the director. Jackson will be an executive producer for The Hobbit, which will be split into two films that will be created simultaneously, each for $150 million. It is expected that the first film will be released in 2010 and the other in 2011.

Here are two things I’m wondering:

• How much creative license will Del Toro have in regards to The Hobbit? Obviously, neither fans nor New Line want to mess with a proven formula, but Guillermo Del Toro has a very unique visual style. Honestly, it’d be pretty cool to see what Del Toro would come up with if he had free reign; at the same time, The Lord of the Rings trilogy was pretty perfect, and I don’t want anything getting messed up. So how much visual flavor will Del Toro be able to add to the story?
• Second, how are they splitting The Hobbit into two movies? The Hobbit is the quickest and most basic of the Middle Earth tales, and it seems a bit odd to split the shortest and most adventure-based tale into two movies – other than the obvious revenue-making potential, of course. How will they split The Hobbit into two?

Wow. I didn’t see this one coming.

Proving once again that you can’t keep audience members with no taste down, Meet the Spartans stood up to an invading empire of other films and earned $6.5 million on Friday, January 25, 2008, to beat out both Rambo and Cloverfield. Steve Mason over at SlashFilm predicts the new Rambo movie – which features Sylvestor Stallone in his latest attempt to salvage a dying career – will end up winning the weekend… But, what the Hell?

Meet the Spartans looks God awful and likely is even worse, as it is just the latest in a series of terrible spoof movies such as Date Movie and Epic Movie. Are there people who actually like these films? The comedy is inane, and when you can’t even fill out a two-minute preview with funny moments, you know you’re in store for some pain. So how did Meet the Spartans manage to make $6.5 million on Friday? I have no clue.

Rambo, which received only a 34% fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes, opened on Friday to approximately $6 million. I thought for sure this one would win the weekend, with not much other competition out there other than Cloverfield. I guess violent action movies really are dead, which is a real shame.

The other real shocker is Cloverfield, however. Everyone knew the movie would fall hard, as last week’s numbers were inflated by a huge fanboy rush to see it opening weekend, but could anyone have predicted a 68% freefall? The J.J. Abrams monster movie earned only $4.5 million for the weekend.

The Diane Lane thriller Untraceable opened to $3.5 million on Friday and How She Move managed to open up outside the Top Ten with approximately $1 million.

I haven’t seen many blogs discussing this, so I thought I’d raise the question: Could Heath Ledger win an Oscar for his portrayal of The Joker in the upcoming Batman movie The Dark Knight? At the very least, could he receive an Oscar nomination?

The thought is unlikely – after all, action movies – especially action movies based on comic books featuring a man dressed up in a rubber bat suit – are hardly critical fodder for nominations of any sort outside of a few technical awards such as editing and visual effects. Jack Nicholson didn’t receive any major awards, or nominations, for his portrayal of Batman’s arch nemesis – and yet he was praised for his performance and is, at least for a few more months, still considered to have the best comic book villain performance ever.

But… is Academy Award recognition, whether it be through a win or a nomination, that unreasonably for the late Heath Ledger, who died earlier this week from an apparent drug overdose? Let’s look at the possibilities:

• Heath Ledger already has an Oscar nomination for his excellent performance in Brokeback Mountain. Repeat nominees often have a better chance.
• Heath Ledger was a good looking guy, and in his upcoming role, he plays a disfigured psychopath. Oscar voters love good-looking people who make themselves ugly (though this tend to applies more to women than men).
• The Dark Knight is a comic book movie, yes, but of all of the comic book movies that could have had a chance at award nominations, Oscar or otherwise, Batman Begins is the most serious, dramatically significant, character-driven film of them all. Expectations are that The Dark Knight is going to have the same brooding, dark approach to it that the previous film had.
• The Dark Knight is directed for Christopher Nolan, who so far has yet to direct a bad movie. Popular, critically favored directors can help elevate a film and its actors.
• The buzz around Heath Ledger’s performance, even before his death, was and is huge. Snippets of his performance that have been seen in trailers and clips have been downright terrifying.
• It looks like Heath Ledger has transformed himself into the villain of villains, and will do what no other actor has done: to overshadow Jack Nicholson’s portrayal of The Joker.
• Some people are blaming Heath Ledger’s death on his devotion and submersion into his role as The Joker; the actor was apparently only sleeping a couple hours a night because The Joker was so disturbing and evil. It is possible that Ledger overdosed on sleeping pills. Essentially, it is possible that Heath Ledger “died” as a result of playing The Joker.
• Heath Ledger is dead. Let’s face it – the emotional vote is in his favor.

To push on my last point a little more, madbeast.com says there are six actors to be nominated for acting Oscars posthumously:

• Jeanne Eagels received a Best Actress nomination months after dying of a Heroin overdose.
• James Dean received two nominations after his fatal car crash.
• Spencer Tracy received his ninth Best Actor nomination after dying.
• Peter Finch died of a heart attack some say was a result of an exhaustive effort to win the Oscar for Network. After WINNING THE AWARD, his costar and fellow nominee William Holden said, “If the son of a bitch
  hadn’t died, I could have won my second Oscar.” Hmm…
• Ralph Richardson died five months before his Tarzan movie was released; he was subsequently nominated.
• Massimo Troisi died a day after completing Il Postino; he received nominations for Best Actor and Best Adapted Screenplay.

So, again, we realize that a Batman film is an unlikely place to find an Oscar-winning performance in any way or form, but actors have been nominated posthumously before. The Dark Knight comes out in the summer, not a very good time to showcase an actor’s capabilities for Oscar voters, but the film will be hitting DVD sometime before Christmas, and it will hit big. Every voter will see the movie, and every voter will be reminded of Heath Ledger’s death.

Until that day, who knows, but it’s certainly an interesting prospect. What do you think?

Comedies can win Oscars, or at least Golden Globes. Foreign films get their own category. So, aside from family films, the one genre that never gets much recognition other than through box office dollars is the action movie genre. Action films have become blurred with thrillers recently, as Hollywood has leaned more toward serious, realistic action-thrillers over kick-ass explosion-filled extravaganzas. This list includes some of those, but 2007 saw the reemergence of some bad ass action films.

And no, Spider-Man 3 is not on the list. Here are the top ten action movies of 2007:

1. Transformers (2007)
   The top five action movies of 2007 are pretty close to one another, and the top three are almost interchangeable. But there’s no denying that the film with the biggest impact over the summer was an explosive action film that had fan boys salivating and even regular audience members blown away by spectacular visual effects and a finale that all but destroys Los Angeles. The movie was plagued with some annoying dialogue and other screenplay issues, but Michael Bay’s action sequences overcame those flaws to make Transformers the best action movie of 2007.
2. 300 (2007)
   Coming in a very close second place is 300, a movie from Dawn of the Dead director Zach Snyder. 300 could have been a complete disaster, but Snyder made the movie a visual feast. Some people complained that the movie had a lot more talking than fighting, but I found it to have the perfect balance of politics, drama, visuals and action. 300 is by far and away the most visually original picture of 2007, and it’ll be interesting to see how the Visual Effects Oscar gets handed out – on the one hand, Transfomers offered seamless visuals; on the other, 300 was one long special effect that defied expectations and made the film the biggest hit of the first four months of the year.
3. The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)
   The smartest action film in the top three, the third Bourne film places third simply because I thought The Bourne Supremacy was slightly better. The Bourne Ultimatum felt a bit like it was re-treading on the second film’s originality only with a less interesting plot, but I only say that because Supremacy is one of my all-time favorite action films. Ultimatum is still a great action movie, and continues to prove that Matt Damon can be an action hero, and a damn intimidating one to boot.
4. Live Free or Die Hard (2007)
   Despite going way too over the top at times (the fighter jet blowing up a billion dollars worth of highway, for instance), the fourth Die Hard movie was everything fans were expecting and waiting for. People had all but given up on the chance that they would indeed make a fourth movie, but Bruce Willis brought his rugged John McClain back to theaters one more time. The movie is one long action sequence, and while it is hit a bit by the fact that it is rated PG-13, it is still a pretty brutal thrill ride. At the very least, it was refreshing to return to the action films of old, where tough guys did tough things.
5. No Country for Old Men (2007)
   Who knew that a major Best Picture contender would end up on a Top Ten list for Best Action Movie? Regardless, No Country for Old Men, from the Coen Brothers, is one of the most exciting movies I’ve seen in a long time. Not your typical action film, the Coen Brothers fill their film with an impending sense of dread, and give us one of the scariest and most ruthless villains ever witnessed on the silver screen. Unfortunately, the movie doesn’t end the way most of us would have liked – otherwise, this film could have been a lot higher on this list.
6. Shooter (2007)
   Items six through ten aren’t nearly as good as items one through five, but are still good entries for those looking for mindless entertainment. Shooter is a pretty mindless film that tries to cover some idiocies with a political assassination and conspiracy storyline, which, for the most part, works well enough. Mark Wahlberg does a good job in the lead, and Shooter offers plenty of action and intrigue. It’s not a great movie, but it’s still better than most action movies we get these days.
7. 28 Weeks Later (2007)
   Okay, so 28 Weeks Later is technically a horror movie, or at the very least a zombie movie, but as far as excitement goes, it’s a great little film. The movie didn’t receive very good reviews nor box office revenues, but this zombie sequel is exciting and suspenseful from the first minute to the last. The opening sequence is great, and the film is full of exciting moments.
8. Vacancy (2007)
   It’s been a while since I last saw this thriller, but I had to put it on the list anyway. It’s not an action movie per se, but it is action-packed, so I think it deserves a place. Starring the unlikely combination of Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale as a nearly divorced couple, Vacancy is about two people who find themselves trapped at the hotel from Hell. The movie is exciting from beginning to the end, minus the last two minutes, which are just dreadful. Still, I hadn’t sat on the edge of my seat like this in a long time.
9. 3:10 to Yuma (2007)
   I wasn’t crazy about the ending of this one either, but there’s no denying that 3:10 to Yuma is still a thoroughly entertaining film. Starring the great combination of Russell Crowe and Christian Bale, the western remake offers a complicated and disturbing villain (Crowe), some good action scenes and several other exciting moments. If anyone still thinks that westerns are out of date, 3:10 to Yuma is just one of many recent westerns that proves them wrong.
10. The Kingdom (2007)
    This one wasn’t as good as I was hoping it would be, but The Kingdom has some great action, especially toward the end. Somehow this movie, which featured some pretty spectacular trailers and a quality cast, flopped in theaters despite having everything that action audiences require. The shortcoming of the film is that the screenplay isn’t nearly as good as it should have been, given the material.

Other movies that almost made the list: Planet Terror, Death Proof and Smokin’ Aces. The two Grindhouse films were both thoroughly entertaining and offered some good action, while Smokin’ Aces was entertaining but not quite as action packed as I was hoping for.

Why wasn’t Spider-Man 3 on the list? Because it just wasn’t that good of a movie. Harry Potter? Not nearly as good as the other movies (and not really an action movie). Pirates of the Caribbean? That movie just sucked. Fantastic Four 2? Enough said.

Has anyone realized that 2008 has just as many big movies, if not more big movies, than 2007 did? We get Batman, Bond, Harry, Indy, Kirk, Rambo and Mulder over the span of approximately 180 days, and those are only a fraction of the cool-looking movies coming out this year. Of course, the most anticipated movies of 2008 includes a lot of big budget films – because the smaller films and dramas that come out at year’s end have yet to release trailers or develop much buzz as of yet. That will change, but in the meantime, here are my 20 most anticipated movies of 2008. Enjoy the 2008 movie list:

1. The Dark Knight (2008)
   Easily my most anticipated movie of 2008, The Dark Knight brings back nearly everyone that made Batman Begins so great, while adding Heath Ledger as The Joker. I was skeptical about whether it was smart to bring back The Joker after Jack Nicholson made an icon of the character in Tim Burton’s original, but there is no denying that Heath Ledger looks and sounds a heck of a lot more terrifying. Without all the back story that slowed down the first one (don’t get me wrong – I loved it), The Dark Knight promises to be more action-packed and even better.
2. James Bond 22 (2008)
   On Batman’s heels is the latest James Bond film, which once again stars Daniel Craig. After Casino Royale defied expectations and proved that the world could handle a blond Bond, I have huge expectations for this sequel. That being said, there have been a few worrisome developments. There was one article that suggested the producers wanted to inject more humor into the film, though I’m guessing that was fake news – after all, why would they mess with a formula that worked so well, both critically and financially, the last time out? Oh, and the director has never done an action movie before. Regardless, expectations have never been higher for a Bond film; I usually went to the theaters expecting some fun action and entertainment, but now I expect a truly quality film.
3. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)
   In other years, this movie might have been #1, but not this year. Still, there’s no denying that the biggest movie of the year will probably be Indiana Jones 4. We haven’t seen any previews yet, but with Harrison Ford returning to the role and Steven Spielberg back as director, there’s no reason not to expect another entertaining thrill ride. The only thing that could kill this film will be super high expectations; fans have been waiting nearly 20 years, and the anticipation in the weeks leading up to the film’s release will be crazy.
4. Star Trek (2008)
   The buzz is already big on this film. Abrams is flying high right now after Cloverfield launched big (and his previous directorial effort, Mission: Impossible III, was an awesome movie), and thus I am expecting nothing less than incredible for the new Star Trek movie. Looking back, the last several movies have been a bit cheesy and not all that great, but the teaser trailer for this film indicates that much of the cheese factor may be removed. How this rests with Trekkies is anyone’s guess, but hopefully fans of the shows (like me) realize that something like this is necessary to keep the franchise going – much like the Bond franchise needed Casino Royale.
5. Cloverfield (2008)
   This J.J. Abrams-produced movie has already been released in theaters, but even before I saw it, I was definitely looking forward to it. The marketing team did an incredible job of creating buzz for the film over a six-month period, and for the most part, the film lived up to expectations.
6. The X-Files 2 (2008)
   This sequel is flying under the radar right now, and often times I forget that it’s even coming to theaters this year, but once the trailer hits the airwaves, things will change. As a huge X-Files fan, I’m definitely looking forward to this long overdue film, but the question remains: will anyone care? It’s been a long time since The X-Files ended, and the movie is probably not going to make hundreds of millions of dollars. It’s anyone’s guess, but I hope it delivers big in one way or another.
7. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2008)
   Normally, a Harry Potter movie would rank much higher, and in years past they have often topped my lists; however, after the disappointing last movie, it’s a waiting game for me. David Yates, who I pretty much blamed for the previous film’s lack of cohesion, is returning to direct this film, and I really have to wonder what Warner Brothers was thinking. That being said, the original screenwriter – who has done all of the other movies except for The Order of the Phoenix, is returning, and that should spice things up a bit. This prequel to the final movie (rumored to be two movies?) is an important one, and so Yates better not blow it again.
8. Rambo (2008)
   Okay, it might be endless entertainment, but if you’re a guy, you have to be at least a little excited at the prospect of watching a new Rambo movie. Sure, Sylvestor Stallone is scraping for any way to make a buck, but after Rocky Balboa managed to be halfway decent, I’m holding out hope. Furthermore, the previews have absolutely kicked ass; I don’t care how old Stallone is – if he’s tearing apart bad guys with his bare hands and blood is flying everywhere, I am in theaters opening night.
9. Iron Man (2008)
   I was skeptical about this one at first. While I was a comic book fan as a kid, I never purchased a single Iron Man comic, though I’m sure I’ve read one or two over the years. The character never intrigued me very much, and the thought of a tin man flying around doesn’t sound like it could work. Still, the previews for Iron Man have suggested otherwise. The trailers are kick ass, full of explosions, special effects and everything else you’d want from a movie like this.
10. Hancock (2008)
    This superhero movie took me by surprise when I saw a preview for it in front of National Treasure 2; I hadn’t heard or seen anything about it up until then. But this movie, about a loser of a superhero who causes millions of dollars of damage to everything he touches, looks pretty damn entertaining. Did I mention it stars Will Smith? That alone means this film will be a blast, as he has yet to truly disappoint in a blockbuster flick.
11. Get Smart (2008)
    Steve Carrell is at the peak of his career right now, and Get Smart looks like it may finally capitalize on his sense of humor (since Evan Almighty sucked Jesus balls). The teaser trailer for the movie is spectacular, and features Carrell in all kinds of awkward, spy-oriented situations. The phone booth sequence is entertaining, as is the phone-throwing attempt. I usually don’t put too many comedies on my list, but Get Smart definitely deserves a place.
12. Wall-E (2008)
    This is the new movie from Pixar. Enough said. Okay, I’ll add that the visuals look great, and once again Pixar is doing something unique, which is more than what can be sound about their competitors.
13. Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo (2008)
    The first movie looked completely awful, but it was so funny and I ended up watching it twice in the same day. The second movie looks pretty funny as well, though for these kind of films, you can never tell. The marketing team will of course be able to make a funny two-minute trailer out of ninety minutes of stupidity, but I’m holding out hope that this Harold and Kumar sequel will be pretty good.
14. Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008)
    The trailer for this sequel isn’t as good as I would have liked, but since the first movie was such a refreshing jolt of excitement, I have high hopes for this sequel. All of the main cast members are returning, and it looks like Guillermo del Toro, fresh off his foreign-language masterpiece Pan’s Labyrinth, has injected similar styles from that Oscar-nominated film into this one.
15. Jumper (2008)
    This Hayden Christensen/Samuel L. Jackson sci-fi thriller may end up being mindless fluff, but Jumper looks cool. The concept, about a young man who can teleport anywhere in the world, is relatively unique, and the special effects look good enough to back up the idea. The movie’s release date suggests it won’t be anything too intelligent, but you never know.
16. The Incredible Hulk (2008)
    I actually liked the first Hulk movie moderately enough, up until the absolutely horrible ending. That being said, if I watched it again, I would probably laugh at how bad it is. I’ve never been a fan of the Hulk – I never understood what the big deal is about an anti-hero who turns into a monster – but this movie does have potential. After all, the studio heard the complaints about the original film and have presumably made amends. The presence of Ed Norton as Bruce Banner doesn’t hurt, either.
17. Revolutionary Road (2008)
    Again, here’s another drama without a trailer, but come awards time, everyone expects this film to be right up among the major contenders. Why? The movie stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, reuniting for the first time since Titanic, and is directed by Sam Mendes, who directed one of my all-time favorite movies, American Beauty. You may have heard of it.
18. Sex and the City (2008)
    I’m not anticipating this comedy as much as I am intrigued by it. Even though I am a 25-year old straight male, I have to admit that I have seen almost all of the Sex and the City episodes and thoroughly enjoyed them (living with two females for a year helped). It’s truly one of the best comedies ever to be seen on television; of course, HBO has an unfair advantage in that it puts a lot more dollars into its shows than the average sitcom. Whether the television show will work as a movie is anyone’s guess, but we’ll find out in a few months…
19. Run, Fatboy, Run (2008)
    Just to fill out my Top 20, I added one that I haven’t seen on anyone else’s list. Run, Fatboy, Run, starring Simon Pegg (Shaun of the Dead) looks funny in a completely goofy kind of way, and that’s enough to have me looking forward to it. Pegg really hasn’t stumbled yet, and while I’m not expecting anything as clever as his Shaun or Hot Fuzz, this one should be a bloody good time.
20. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008)
    Some people are really looking forward to this movie. I’m holding my breath. The previews don’t make this one look as good as the first one, and the first one was a mild disappointment. I thought the first one looked cool, until I sat down for a two-and-a-half hour film that was mildly entertaining at best and boring at its worst, so the marketing department is really going to have to step it up to convince me that this sequel is different.

Just so everyone knows, I updated my Top Ten Movies of 2007 List. I forgot to put Once on the list, and if you’ve seen Once, you know that’s a movie that deserves to be recognized. The movie, about a street musician and an immigrant who strike up a relationship to work on producing an album of the musician’s work, is incredibly simple yet absolutely intriguing at the same time. The song, nominated for an Oscar, is one of the greatest songs to grace the silver screen in a long time.

Read my Once movie review, or take a look at my updated Best Movies of 2007 list.

The Oscars are almost upon us! Sure, the writer’s strike may destroy things, but I’m pretty sure everything will be resolved before February 24th, 2008. Anyway, the Academy Award nominations for 2007 movies were released yesterday, and today I re-launched my Oscar database with all nominees and winners for years 2004 through 2006, and the nominees for 2007.

I’m sure you’ve already checked them out, but here are the 2007 Oscar nominations on FilmJabber.

Over the next several weeks, I will analyze each category with my picks, predictions and thoughts. Who do I think was snubbed? Who got lucky? Which categories are most competitive, and which are a near absolute?

Let me just say that I am pretty impressed with the Oscar nominations this year. I knew that The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford wouldn’t get nominated for Best Picture, even though it was brilliant, but the movie did get recognized in a few categories, most notably Casey Affleck for Best Supporting Actor (even though he was the leading actor in the film). This is a film and actor that could have easily been overlooked, but the Academy voters were smart enough to recognize some great stuff when they saw it.

There are a couple categories where I haven’t chosen a pick yet, since I’ve only seen one film out of the five (in the Best Actress category, I’ve only seen Juno). Best Supporting Actor is an amazingly tough choice. Interestingly enough, while I choice Atonement as the best movie of the year in my Top 10 Movies of 2007, I’m rooting for There Will Be Blood to win. It’s just a bolder film, and I will be a bit surprised if it wins (since it will split votes with No Country for Old Men).

View my picks for the 2007 Academy Awards (or are they the 2008 Academy Awards?). Please note that these are MY PICKS, and not necessarily MY PREDICTIONS. Those will come later.

As many people know, Roman Polanski is not allowed to return to the United States or travel to countries that have an extradition treaty with the U.S. (like Great Britain) due to his conviction of “engaging in unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor” in the late 1970′s.

With a new movie called Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired looking to be a major contender at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, I figured now would be a good time to gauge what people think of Polanski and what should happen to resolve everything. The movie, directed by Marina Zenovich, details the events revolving around Polanski’s conviction and flight to France, is sure to stir up controversy…

These are not all the facts, but this is what I pulled from Wikipedia:

•  In 1977, Polanski got the permission of Samantha Geimer’s mother to conduct a private photo shoot of the 13-year old (or was she 14?) girl.
• On March 10, despite her reservations, Geimer returned for a second photo shoot. “We did photos with me drinking champagne,” Geimer says. “Toward the end it got a little scary, and I realized he had other intentions and I knew I was not where I should be. I just didn’t quite know how to get myself out of there… I said no several times, and then, well, gave up on that.” This took place at Jack Nicholson’s home.
• Polanski was initially charged with rape via use of drugs, perversion, sodomy, lewd and lascivious act upon a child under 14, but put in a plea agreement for a lesser charge.
• On a tip that the judge was going to throw out the plea agreement, Polanski fled to France, where he was still a citizen. France and the U.S. do have an extradition treaty, but France will not extradite its own citizens. The U.S. could put in a request for France to try him, but they have not do so and will probably never do so.
• While Polanski admitted to unlawful conduct, psychiatric experts did not consider him a sexual predator and both the defense and prosecution believed probation would be sufficient punishment rather than jail. (Yahoo!)
• In a 2003 interview, Geimer (now Samantha Gailey) said, “Straight up, what he did to me was wrong. But I wish he would return to America so the whole ordeal can be put to rest for both of us… I’m sure if he could go back, he wouldn’t do it again. He made a terrible mistake but he’s paid for it”.

So, here are some questions:

• Is Roman Polanski likely to re-offend?
• Has Polanski already “paid his due”?
• Since Polanski has directed several great films and the crime committed was thirty years ago, does that factor in?
• Do any of the previous questions matter? He had sex with a 13-year old.

What do you think? I’m torn myself. I must admit that I do have some compassion for people who committed crimes decades earlier. More than likely, those people have grown beyond whatever they did in the past, experience guilt and suffer as a result. And the fact that Polanski has won Oscars and contributed extensively to the arts does provide some bias. At the same time, Polanski had sex with a young girl. He knew how old she was, and he knew she was really, really young. And according to the initial charge and statements from Geimer, the sex was definitely not consensual or pleasant in any way or form.

Some may take offense to the fact that I may appear more concerned about the next Batman movie than Heath Ledger, but that is not my intent with this article. Heath Ledger’s death was shocking and a little depressing, considering that he was a great and underrated actor who, I believe, was on the verge of breaking through to becoming a huge star. But if you are a Batman fan, you must admit that seconds after learning of Heath Ledger’s death, you thought of the upcoming movie The Dark Knight and how it will be affected by the situation.

The good news is that assuming to IMDB, The Dark Knight (2008), directed by Christopher Nolan, is in post-production, which, with exception to a major film fire (knock on wood, Ledger’s scenes should all be complete. Of course, there always chances of needed reshoots or additional scenes to be filmed, but I don’t see Nolan as someone who often does stuff like this – and I don’t see the WB tampering with the director’s vision. I have looked around on the Internet for other articles about this topic, but have yet to find anything too substantial. Most are just re-iterating the news story, which you can read here. The basics are that Ledger fell victim to drug abuse and either accidentally overdosed or killed himself (since he was found surrounded by pills), which is a fuzzy line anyway.

Will The Dark Knight be pushed back at all, my boss asked. Highly unlikely. The Dark Knight is WB’s tentpole release of the summer, and buzz is high. Also, with the film’s release several months away, there is really no emotional obligation to put things on hold. Even if The Dark Knight were to open this Friday, I doubt the WB would push back the release.

Some fans are concerned that the ending of The Dark Knight will be changed. I don’t know what fans have heard, but there seems to be some assumptions that The Joker lives at the end (based on the fact that Ledger allegedly had signed on for a sequel). The worries surround the thought that The Joker may escape at the end, and thus the WB would be forced to deal with a situation where they would have to tie up loose ends. To this, I say these worries are unfounded: more than likely, The Joker will survive (didn’t they learn their lesson with Tim Burton’s Batman?) but will be incarcerated. The other option, if he doesn’t get killed, is that he escapes, though I find this a bit unlikely since The Dark Knight is probably Nolan’s last Batman film – and who would want to end a comic book film with the villain “winning” unless you plan to wrap up the story later on? And even if The Joker does escape, who cares? You can just drop the storyline for the next film or, heaven forbid, get yet another actor to play the creepy Batman foe.

Anyway, unless I hear otherwise, I will assume that all of Heath Ledger’s scenes have been filmed and that the movie will be released on time (presumably with a “In memory of Heath Ledger” at the beginning or end). Of course, with Ledger’s life cut short at age 28, that means we’ve been denied a good fifty or sixty years of quality acting. While some people shrugged Ledger off as a pretty face, remember that he turned in an Oscar-worthy performance in Brokeback Mountain, was great in I’m Not There, and was poised to break out in The Dark Knight. After all, how many actors get so much positive buzz just from a movie trailer?

Four new movies are coming to DVD today, January 22, 2008. These DVD releases range from pretty decent to downright terrible, and here’s your guide to each:

Recommended DVD Releases

The Game Plan (2007)

The Rock stars in Walt Disney’s The Game Plan, a family film about a pro quarterback who, while on the run for the championship game (not called the Superbowl here) discovers that he has an eight-year old daughter named Peyton and has to quickly become a father… and learn ballet. The movie is entertaining enough for what it is, and as far as Disney family films go, it’s pretty decent. Kids should find it pretty funny and parents will find it amusing. The movie is rated PG, but I didn’t notice much offensive stuff in the film whatsoever – even the facts about how The Rock ended up with a daughter he didn’t know about is covered, so all you Christian conservatives can breathe easily.

DVD features include bloopers, deleted scenes, a Sportscenter interview with The Rock on how he learned to play quarterback, a behind-the-scenes featurette and some makeover-madness set-top activity that I didn’t watch. The DVD also includes a fictitious Sportscenter biography of The Rock’s character, hosted by Stuart Scott.

The Game Plan movie details | The Game Plan movie review

The Hunting Party (2007)

A politically charged movie that isn’t quite a real thriller or a comedy but a unique blend of the two genres, The Hunting Party stars Richard Gere, Terrence Howard and Jesse Eisenberg as three reporters who go searching for a notorious war criminal. The movie is pretty entertaining, though it never reaches its full potential. Recommended for people who like something slightly off the beaten track, even though the film is pretty mainstream in many ways.

The Hunting Party is rated R; it has some violence, a fair amount of language, a little bit of sexual material and some brief moments of nudity.

The DVD includes a feature commentary, deleted scenes, interviews with the real group of journalists who inspired the movie, a making-of featurette and the original Esquire article, “What I Did on My Summer Vacation”.

The Hunting Party movie details | The Hunting Party movie review

Not Recommended DVD Releases

Saw IV (2007)

The fourth film in the Saw franchise, Saw IV is the worst as the bunch. Starring a bunch of actors we don’t care about who play characters we care about even less, the movie is just a jumbled mess and offers little in the way of clear narrative. It is clear the writers have run out of ideas and are now simply adding confusing and unnecessary layers to the stories that have already been done. I’ve never liked the Saw movies, but even fans of the franchise have to admit that Saw 4 falls short in many ways.

Saw IV is rated R, of course, for the usual: torture and gore.

For those of you who do brave the movie, the DVD includes: director’s commentary, producers’ commentary, a video diary, a music video, a deleted scene and a couple featurettes that look at the traps and props of Saw IV.

Saw IV movie details | Saw IV movie review

Sydney White (2007)

Amanda Bynes stars in this college-oriented version of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, about a tomboy but pretty freshman who, after being kicked out of the top sorority for not being polished enough, teams up with a frat full of dorks to take the sorority queen down via student body elections. The movie really has nothing to do with Snow White and is about as dull and unoriginal as they come; Bynes doesn’t do many good movies, but this is one of her not-so-good ones.

Sydney White is rated PG-13; it has some minor language, teen drinking and partying and a little bit of sexual humor, but compared to most PG-13 movies it is pretty mild. I would give it an NC-17 for stupidity, though.

DVD special features include deleted scenes, a gag reel and a few other uninteresting features.

Sydney White movie details | Sydney White movie review

Over the weekend, I went through and updated the DVD release date schedule for January, February and March 2008 (as well as a few releases in April and even May). I realized I hadn’t updated the DVD release dates in a while, as I managed to add release dates and Amazon.com links for over 50 movies, including some pretty good films such as The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (February 5, 2008), American Gangster (February 19, 2008), Into the Wild (February 12, 2008) and Michael Clayton (February 19, 2008).

I try to keep my DVD release date schedule as streamlined as possible. If you’ve ever looked for DVD release dates on other websites, they often crowd their listings with Special Edition releases, TV show releases and even direct-to-DVD releases, which to me just makes things more complicated. I want to know when the big movies are coming to DVD – I don’t care about when White Noise 2 is being released. Anyway, I’ve received a lot of good feedback about my DVD release dates schedule, so I hope you like it – check it out now!

Cloverfield, the J.J. Abrams-produced monster movie, earned $41 million over the three-day weekend, according to box office estimates. With Martin Luther King, Jr. Day tomorrow and many of the film’s target demographic free, the movie is set to make a fair amount of money on Monday, too.

The movie only costs $35 million to make (I’ve heard some reports that say $25 million), and combined with the $41 million three-day take means:

• It has already made more than its production budget
• It beat out the re-release of Star Wars‘ $35.9 box office weekend that up until now has held the January box office record
• It beat out Black Hawk Down’s $33.6 MLK holiday weekend record.
• It goes to show that you can make a high quality film on a low budget.

Congrats to Cloverfield for once again showing Hollywood that you don’t need to spend $150 million to make big action movies.