Law Abiding Citizen

Edge of Darkness Trailer Disappointingly Lacking in Beavers. Today in Film Bloggery 10/15/09

By Christopher Campbell posted 3 weeks ago

It’s been a long time since we saw Mel Gibson in a movie, and many people are anticipating his return to the big screen with a beaver puppet on his hand. And that makes us disappointed to learn that there’s this other Gibson vehicle arriving in theaters first: Edge of Darkness, the trailer for which arrived online last night. Couldn’t this be pushed back indefinitely (and we get Malick’s delayed The Tree of Life in its place)? Or, at least until after the Jodie Foster-directed The Beaver opens?

Such disappointment would be felt with any other Gibson movie after all the Beaver hype, but the feeling is exacerbated by the fact Edge of Darkness looks like just another vigilante thriller in the wake of Taken, Law Abiding Citizen and the Foster-starrer The Brave One. The cast is great, even if Danny Huston seems like 100 other characters he’s played before (not that I ever dislike his rehashed performances). And of course a script co-written by William Monahan and direction from Martin Campbell in his first feature gig since Casino Royale should mean the film won’t be terrible. Still, does anyone want to see this at all?

Check out what the other film blogs are saying about the trailer after the jump:

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Hollywood

Dueling Space Odysseys. Trade Roughage 10/17/08

By Christopher Campbell posted 1 year ago

Brad Pitt will produce and may star in an outer space version of The Odyssey for Warner Bros., and the studio is looking to sign George Miller as director. It is indeed an interesting project for Pitt since he also starred in Troy, which was kind of an adaptation of Homer’s The Iliad. But even more interesting is the fact that this isn’t the first Odyssey in space movie announced this week. On Monday, Ridley Scott described his next project as “The Odyssey by way of Blade Runner.”
Pitt may also play Oakland A’s general manager Billy Beane (labeled one of the “New Einsteins” in the latest Mental_Floss) in an adaptation of the nonfiction book Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game from screenwriter Steve Zaillian (American Gangster) and director David Frankel (The Devil Wears Prada).
Star Wars geek Kevin Smith is at last making his own sci-fi movie, a father-son comedy set in outer space that “will reference other sci-fi movies.” Hopefully it will be as good as Spaceballs and Galaxy Quest, but looking at both the history of sci-fi comedies and the Bluntman and Chronic stuff at the end of Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back leaves me thinking it will be more 2001: A Space Travesty.
It’s that time of the year when studios decide if their Oscar hopefuls are ready or not. Dimension is currently weighing the possibility of The Road being pushed to 2009, and now Paramount has announced that expected contender The Soloist won’t be released until March while Defiance will barely make the calendar cut with a limited drop on December 31.
On this crowded news day, here are some other notable bits: David Bergstein is consolodating several companies, including THINKfilm and Capitol Films, for a new venture headed by former New Line exec David Tuckerman;Â F. Gary Gray replaces Frank Darabont as director of Law-Abiding Citizen; Bourne 4 moves ahead with a screenwriter; Max Payne is expected to be #1 at the box office this weekend, unless of course some figures from Florida are miscounted permitting Oliver Stone’s W. to win the top spot.

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Hollywood, Reviews

Oscars Hawk Blockbusters. Trade Roughage 10/09/08

By Christopher Campbell posted 1 year ago

For the first time ever, TV commercials for new movies will be allowed to run during the Oscar telecast beginning with the 2009 ceremony. None of the nominees or movies related to the nominees (sequels, prequels, etc.) are permitted, nor are any movies opening before the last weekend in April. So, look for never-before-seen spots for the summer blockbusters, which could benefit next year’s ratings if fanboys who otherwise have no interest in the Academy Awards tune in just to see new footage from Transformers 2.
In other Oscar news: 8 documentary shorts have been shortlisted.
16 years after offending Arabs with the animated feature Aladdin, Disney is now about to finance and produce its first film in Arabic — the Lebanese folk tale The Last of the Storytellers — as part of a new venture to make regionally geared movies in the Middle East. The Mouse House has also recently announced similar regional projects in Russia and India.
Jamie Foxx will go vigilante, targeting the D.A. (Gerard Butler) who allowed his wife and child’s killer to go free, in the Frank Darabont-directed Law Abiding Citizen.
For all you Netflix subscribers: if you don’t rent Blu-Ray discs, you apparently will need to make an adjustment to your account that says so; otherwise you will be charged a higher rate beginning in November. If you do rent Blu-Ray, you’re fine, though you now must pay the additional $1 per month for being so technologically advanced.