HANCOCK 2 WILL HAPPEN

So says AICN & Joblo. Check it out here: http://www.aintitcool.com/node/39340

I have posted a few times about my love for Peter Berg's scrappy superhero movie HANCOCK. While people seem to either love it or hate it, the box office take (over $600 million worldwide) easily suggests that enough people enjoyed it for the people at Sony to feel it's a smart business decision to roll ahead with the obviously pricey sequel.

A sequel to HANCOCK should make for an interesting film. I am very interested in learning more about the world that Hancock came from, and all that he went through throughout the years. And with the ending of the first film being what it is, it will be cool to see Hancock in the big apple after destroying much of Hell-A.

Bring Berg back, make sure Michael Mann produces it, and obviously, Smith needs to return as the titular character. It'll be a few years down the road before it hits theaters but this is one sequel I am very excited for.

MOVIES FOR THE WEEKEND

On Sunday I am gonna check out Baz Lurhman's AUSTRALIA. It looks epic. And I love epics. Critics were mixed but I remain interested. My parents loved it and I hold their opinion in pretty high regard. I am always in the mood for a sweeping, epic romance mixed with action and melodrama; if done right, this type of movie can be very enjoyable to watch.

Tonight I am going to listen to the audio commentary on the new TROPIC THUNDER DVD with Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Jr. (who does the commentary in character), and Jack Black. After re-watching bits and pieces of this instant comedy classic last night, I can safely say it's one of my favorite comedies in recent years. I am really anxious for the other comedy masterwork of 2008 -- PINEAPPLE EXPRESS -- to hit dvd on 1/9/09.

TWO DVD REVIEWS

What an endlessly fascinating film ENCOUNTERS AT THE END OF THE WORLD (****) is. Engrossingly directed (as usual) by the legendary Werner Herzog, this is a film of stunning, haunting beauty, that does something that so few films are capable of these days: show you something new and different. Herzog and a crew of less than five (including long time cinematographer Peter Zeitlinger) traveled to Antarctica and documented life on the South Pole. You get to swim under the frozen slabs of ice, which have been staggeringly captured by brave underwater cameramen, and what you get to see under the ice is nothing short of transfixing. Mixed with the eerie, otherworldly sounds of communicating seals, the footage provides an extraterrestrial quality; it's like you're looking at life on a completely different planet. You also get introduced to the many eccentric people (scientists, workers, environmentalists, cooks, etc.) that populate the South Pole. While there aren't that many people who live there in total, each and every one of them interviewed by Herzog seems like a surreal piece of work. Herzog, a filmmaker known for his brazen sense of humor and a subversive sense of irony, is appalled by the presence of such commercial items as an ATM machine and a gym/spa on the icy tundra. He is a filmmaker, like Malick, who has always been interested by the ways that man and nature interact and intersect. Herzog has gone to great geographic lengths throughout his career. Whether it's the Amazon (AGUIRRE, FITZCARRALDO), Laos (LITTLE DIETER, RESCUE DAWN), Alaska (GRIZZLY MAN), Kuwait (LESSONS OF DARKNESS) or at the McMurdo Research Station in ENCOUNTERS AT THE END OF THE WORLD, he seems entranced by the many exotic qualities that different regions can provide for him as a filmmaker. There are visual and thematic references to two earlier Herzog docs, THE WHITE DIAMOND and THE WILD BLUE YONDER, as well. Herzog, who operated one of the two high-def cameras on the shoot, emphasizes how desolate, alone, and brutally cold the South Pole is. He didn't go there to make a warm and fuzzy penguin movie ala MARCH OF THE PENGUINS (he even states so at the front end of the doc) but yes, you do get some penguin footage. You also get to hear Herzog ask a penguin specialist about the potential existence of gay penguins. Trust me, it's priceless. ENCOUNTERS AT THE END OF THE WORLD is one of my favorite films of the year.

Adam McKay's STEP BROTHERS (***) is an interesting outing for Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly. Mean-spirited, pretty cruel, and often hilarious, the film is so asinine that you can't really question the plot or the logic and set-up of the story. It's not anywhere near as good as ANCHORMAN: THE LEGEND OF RON BURGUNDY, but I'd say that STEP BROTHERS is on par with the last McKay-Ferrell-Reilly outing, TALLADEGA NIGHTS. Ferrell is just such a goof ball that it's hard not to crack up just by looking at him. And Reilly, who began his career with mostly dramatic roles, is really finding his way as a comedian. His work in last year's underrated DEWEY COX is also worth seeking out. STEP BROTHERS revolves around Brennan (Ferrell) and Dale (Reilly), two slacker clowns still living with their parents who somehow haven't yet been thrown out of the house. When their parents (Richard Jenkins, perfect, and Mary Steenburgen, unexpectedly funny) get married, the two morons become step brothers, much to their chagrin. They are both knuckle-heads, very stubborn and very much the definition of the phrase "ass-hole." At first, they see themselves as bitter enemies. Then, they are forced to team up. Then they fight. Then they make up. Repeat this process a few times, thrown in some standard plot hi jinks, and populate the film with some great cameos, and you're left with a noisy but amusing comedy which really plays off the estimable improv strengths of the entire cast. But stealing the entire movie out from under the two stars is the actor Adam Scott (THE AVIATOR, HBO's TELL ME YOU LOVE ME), who plays Ferrell's older brother. Scott, the ultimate type-A dick-head older bro, kills every single line, scene, and moment in STEP BROTHERS. And Kathryn Hahn, playing his wife, also steps up to the plate big time. The first time you're introduced to their characters (which has them singing aloud in their car with their children), the scene is so funny that it's almost impossible to even laugh. It's like those moments on THE OFFICE where the humor of the scene is just so high that you, as the viewer, can only stare at the screen and just say to yourself: holy shit that's funny. STEP BROTHERS isn't in the same league as PINEAPPLE EXPRESS and TROPIC THUNDER, the two class-clown winners from 2008, but it's definitely got enough funny material to warrant a rental.

KNOWING

I am pretty curious about the new film KNOWING, from director Alex Proyas (THE CROW, DARK CITY -- a masterpiece -- and I, ROBOT). It stars Nic Cage and it's set for release on March 20, 2009. The premise is very intriguing: a time capsule is unearthed at a school in a small town and inside the capsule there is evidence of many major global disasters from throughout the years, with some dire imminent predictions as well. I have always found Proyas to be a very stylish director, and this project definitely has some potential. It's an independently financed, fairly big-budget movie with a majorly high-concept scenario. I wonder how this end-of-humanity flick will compare with Roland Emmerich's 2012, which hits theaters next summer. Proyas had some legendary fights with Fox over the tone and creative handling of I, ROBOT, and while that film was entertaining and well done and it was a big hit at the box office, it could have been better. I am hoping that KNOWING has a bit of the darker edge that Proyas used to show off with his earlier efforts. DARK CITY is among my favorite films, a sci-fi materwork that blended German expressionism, film noir, sci-fi, and comic books to create a wholly mesmerizing work of art. I highly recommend that you check it out if it has slipped by you. It's the very definition of underrated and undervalued.

Here's a link to the nifty looking trailer for KNOWING:

http://www.apple.com/trailers/independent/knowing/trailer_large.html

And for shits and giggles, here's a link to Emmerich's 2012 (it's only a teaser):

http://www.apple.com/trailers/sony_pictures/2012/

ON DVD TODAY

"Movies are so rarely great art that if we cannot appreciate great trash we have very little reason to be interested in them." -- Pauline Kael

If Kael had seen Timur Bekmembatov's insanely over the top but extremely entertaining action thriller WANTED, she'd probably appreciate it for what it is: great trash cinema. Mixing FIGHT CLUB, THE MATRIX, OFFICE SPACE, and Michael Bay into a blender, this bloody, action-packed blockbuster from last summer (a sequel is already being written) was one of the few hard-core, R-rated actioners of the year to have fun with the genre. Its story is so asinine, its action is so ludicrous, that I just couldn't help but enjoy myself on a purely carnal level of movie pleasure. A half-naked Angelina Jolie, lots of two-fisted, John Woo-style gun fights, and enough splashy action cinematography to choke a horse. What's not to love? It's not CITIZEN KANE, but for what it is, it really gets the job done.

Also on DVD today is the Will Ferrell/John C. Reilly comedy STEP BROTHERS, which I missed in the theaters last summer, and is arriving today via Netflix. Looking forward to checking it out. Also released is THE X-FILES: I WANT TO BELIEVE, which I also missed this past summer, and I intend on renting later this week.

NEW PUBLIC ENEMIES PHOTOS

Michael Mann. Johnny Depp. Christian Bale. Dante Spinotti. Holy shit-balls.

LOOKING AT 2009

There's still one month left in 2008 and plenty of movies to check out. Oscar-madness is right around the corner and all of the critics groups will be dishing out their awards in the very near future. But it's not too early to look at the top films that are on deck for 2009. Here's a list of some of my most eagerly anticipated films for next year:

1. Martin Scorsese's SHUTTER ISLAND
2. Michael Mann's PUBLIC ENEMIES
3. Michael Bay's TRANSFORMERS 2
4. Werner Herzog's BAD LIEUTENANT: PORT OF NEW ORLEANS
5. John Hillcoat's THE ROAD
6. Tony Scott's THE TAKING OF PELHAM 123
7. Terrence Malick's TREE OF LIFE
8. The Coen Brothers' A SERIOUS MAN
9. Spike Jonze's WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE
10. Zack Snyder's WATCHMEN

11. Terry Gilliam's THE IMAGINARIUM OF DR. PARNASSUS
12. Quentin Tarantino's INGLORIOUS BASTERDS
13. McG's TERMINATOR: SALVATION
14. Joe Johnston's THE WOLF MAN
15. Paul Greengrass's THE GREEN ZONE
16. J.J. Abrams' STAR TREK
17. Steven Soderbergh's THE INFORMANT
18. Jonathan Mostow's THE SURROGATES
19. Gavin Hood's X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE
20. Guy Ritchie's SHERLOCK HOLMES

21. Kathryn Bigelow's THE HURT LOCKER
22. Rob Marshall's NINE
23. Tom Twyker's THE INTERNATIONAL
24. Tony Gilroy's DUPLICITY
25. Joe Wright's THE SOLOIST
26. Dan Mazer's BRUNO
27. Brad Silberling's LAND OF THE LOST
28. Roland Emmerich's 2012
29. Peter Jackson's THE LOVELY BONES
30. James Cameron's AVATAR

31. Jim Sheridan's BROTHERS
32. Sam Raimi's DRAG ME TO HELL
33. Alex Proyas' KNOWING
34. Stephen Sommer's G.I. JOE
35. Neveldine/Taylor's CRANK 2
36. Judd Apatow's FUNNY PEOPLE
37. Wayne Kramer's CROSSING OVER
38. Kevin McDonald's STATE OF PLAY
39. Karen Kursyama's JENNIFER'S BODY
40. Jody Hill's OBSERVE & REPORT

I am sure there are others that I'm missing but these are the 40 films that immediately come to mind. The first ten are the ones I am most interested in.