MIlla Jovovich Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Screamfest Review: The Fourth Kind
Filed under: Horror », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Universal », Theatrical Reviews », Other Festivals »
I'm not sure exactly what quality it is that real people possess and actors lack, but any time a film pretends to document real behavior, either literally or as a reenactment, something is almost always missing. Sometimes the problem is a deliberate decision to enhance events with artificial emphasis or drama, and sometimes it's simply too great a sense of self-awareness in the actor, who knows he or she is performing. But while there are a precious few movies that nail that authenticity, notably the recent underdog-blockbuster Paranormal Activity, such is certainly the case in The Fourth Kind, a film that purports to build an argument for alien abductions using "actual" footage from case studies.
While much of the movie's so-called source material carries the convincing roughness and deficiencies of homemade, handheld recording, too much of it seems far too calculated, both in its technical proficiency and the performances contributed by its "real" people. Further, its accompanying reenactments by recognizable actors undermine the possibility that audiences can take its case seriously, all of which adds up to thriller that unravels easily even if it nevertheless occasionally qualifies as a scary good time.
CMJ Dispatch: 'The Fourth Kind,' 'The Messenger,' and More
Filed under: Action », Drama », Independent », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Thrillers », Universal », Festival Reports », DIY/Filmmaking », Cinematical Indie », War »
The CMJ Festival ended Friday night with a whimper -- well, maybe that was me whimpering after I left a special screening of the spooky ooky alien thriller, The Fourth Kind. In case you haven't checked out the trailers and featurettes on the official site, I'll give you a quick breakdown -- the movie switches between "real" footage of director Olatunde Osunsanmi interviewing Dr. Abigail Tyler, a psychiatrist in Nome, Alaska, an area with an allegedly high rate of reported alien abductions, and Milla Jovovich playing Tyler as she struggles with the mysterious death of her husband and her patients' nightmares and mental breakdowns. Interestingly enough, the movie also sometimes intersperses Tyler's "real" footage of her sessions with clients with Jovovich acting them out using split screens. In any case, despite any questions as to the validity of the Tyler story and problems with the last third of the movie, I found it pretty damn scary. The Fourth Kind will be begin probing theatergoers on November 6th. (Note: It's unclear whether this was the final cut or not.)
Who Should Play The Major in The Live-Action 'Ghost in The Shell'?
Filed under: Action », Animation », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Casting », Fandom », Scripts », Dreamworks », Steven Spielberg »
There has been talk of a live action Ghost in The Shell for some time now, and while I knew that a US remake was probably inevitable, there was still a small part of me that thought that maybe this time, we would be spared another inferior North American 're-imagining' of a pretty spectacular anime. But I guess I'm not that lucky, because Variety is now reporting that Dreamworks has just hired Laeta Kalogridis (Shutter Island) to adapt the manga for a live action 3D film, bring the film that much closer to reality.Street Kings writer, Jamie Moss, had originally been hired to write the story of "...the exploits of a member of a covert ops unit of the Japanese National Public Safety Commission that specializes in fighting technology-related crime." But I guess Dreamworks wasn't thrilled with the final result, because now Moss is out and Kalogridis is in.
Details about the film are still pretty scarce, and there are plenty of things to decide on, but maybe the most important detail will be casting. The story of GITS is a strange and complicated one, but it all hinges on The Major. It will be crucial to find the right actress for the role if this film has a hope in hell of succeeding -- so I thought I would have a little fun and make a few suggestions to who I think could rock the Thermoptic Camouflage.
After the jump; Five ladies I think could be Major Motoko Kusanagi...
A 'Hero' Returns for 'Resident Evil 4' and New Story Details
Filed under: Action », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Casting », Sony », Scripts », Remakes and Sequels », Games and Game Movies »
Well, we already knew that Milla Jovovich was going to be back as Alice in the latest installment of Resident Evil, but it turns out she won't be the only comely Zombie-hunter back in the mix. In an interview with Boris Kodjoe (Surrogates), the actor told Blackfilm that he has been hired to star alongside Wentworth Miller and a returning Ali Larter (reprising her role as Claire Redfield) in the latest installment of the zombie-action franchise. Kodje first announced his new job on his twitter account, and so far has been pretty chatty about the production. Not only has he confirmed that Paul W.S. Anderson will be directing (possibly in 3-D), but he also gave us a few juicy plot details. According to the actor, Afterlife will center on Alice, "...roaming the world looking for survivors and she's wound up in LA, which has been burning for three years. She comes across an LA jail surrounded be these half-dead, uhh... [Zombies] Anyway, she comes across the jail and there's a couple of survivors and she lands on top of the roof and partners up with me to fight the guys that are coming after them. We're trying to get all of the survivors out of the jail to safety." When asked about Miller's role, Kodje told Blackfilm that the Prison Break star will be, "...playing a guy that we actually locked up when we took over the jail because we weren't sure if he was one of them or not. He comes into play as we try to find a way to get out with our survivors" -- and I guess if you need a guy to engineer a jailbreak, Miller is really the only logical choice.
Resident Evil: Afterlife will start shooting in Toronto in the next couple of weeks, and is scheduled to arrive in theaters on September 27, 2010.
The First Trailer for 'The Fourth Kind'
Filed under: Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Thrillers », Mystery & Suspense », Universal », Trailers and Clips »
When Universal shuffled their slate last month and pushed The Wolf Man back to 2010, they filled its early November void with the alien abduction thriller, The Fourth Kind, and as such have wisely opted to attach their first trailer to District 9 (which I'm guessing must be some sort of Milla Jovovich biopic).Jovovich plays Dr. Abigail Tyler, a Nome, AK psychiatrist whose multiple patients are all spilling forth similarly cryptic stories of what would appear to be occurrences of bona fide alien abduction. (Anyone else picking up a Fire in the Sky vibe all of a sudden?)
Review: A Perfect Getaway
Filed under: Thrillers », Mystery & Suspense », Theatrical Reviews », Summer Movies »
Agatha Christie had it figured out. Ten victims, one killer. Set it up, knock 'em down.
And while there's something to be said for simplicity -- writer-director David Twohy opts for three couples with two killers among them -- A Perfect Getaway can hardly sustain itself until the suspense can kick in. Unable to cut to the chase, Twohy takes his time and decides to get coy, and as it turns out, the only thing deadlier than a killer in a thriller is a screenwriter.
Release Date Shuffle: 'Wolf Man' and Matt Damon Banished to 2010
Filed under: Action », Comedy », Drama », Horror », Romance », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Thrillers », Mystery & Suspense », Universal », RumorMonger », Distribution », Remakes and Sequels », War »
Poor, poor Benicio Del Toro. A former resident of last February, last April and this coming November, his take on The Wolf Man has been bumped back to next February now. That's right: for all the re-scheduling and re-shoots, Joe Johnston's version of the classic monster movie has all but lapped itself on the release slate, hoping to serve as R-rated counter-programming on February 12th, 2010 to Valentine's Day fare and maybe rake in the kind of opening weekend that Friday the 13th had this year ($40 million -- albeit followed by a steep 80% drop in attendance).More on the New 'Resident Evil' Movie
Filed under: Casting », Newsstand »
(Just when you thought the Resident Evil series was finished comes word of yet another installment. Why not? Here's Peter Hall reporting for Horror Squad)The Resident Evil well springs eternal. With three movies already under its biosuit (not counting the animated film Degeneration) and more games than I can shake a controller at, I think it's safe to say that RE is the most prolific zombie franchise ever created. It's influence is felt far greater in the video game world than Hollywood, but that has yet to stop Screen Gems from pumping out the undead actioners.
Which brings us the fourth in the film series (the aforementioned Degeneration was a standalone project more in line with the games than the films), titled Resident Evil: Afterlife. Shock Till You Drop picked up on a production report outlining the film's future, which will begin an eight week shoot starting this September with an expected release date of September 17, 2010. Though there is no director attached to the film yet, it's been confirmed that the always appreciated Milla Jovovich will be reprising her role of the fanboy loved Alice, destroyer of all things sans pulse. Also returning will be fanboy bait Paul W.S. Anderson, though as of this moment his duties will be strictly confined to the word processor side of things.
Read the rest at Horror Squad
'A Perfect Getaway' Could Make for Pulpy Thrills
Filed under: Action », Thrillers », Mystery & Suspense », Summer Movies », Trailers and Clips »
I didn't realize it until now, but it's probably a safe bet that everyone either likes Steve Zahn or Milla Jovovich. So someone was finally smart enough to stick them in the same movie as newlyweds being hunted down in David Twohy's A Perfect Getaway.From the looks of things, I do hope that their Hawaiian honeymoon from hell skews closer to The Most Dangerous Game than Turistas, as the couple juggles suspicion between fellow travelers Timothy Olyphant (well, duh) and Chris Hemsworth (Kirk's pop from J.J. Trek, and a Josh-Brolin-in-No-Country doppelganger here).
Twohy demonstrated a knack with B-grade thrills with Below, Pitch Black, and The Arrival, so let's hope he keeps the streak alive and defies the shrug-worthy placement of any film on an August release date (and this after much previous shuffling to boot).
Getaway currently opens August 14th opposite roughly a gajillion movies -- Taking Woodstock, Ponyo, The Time Traveler's Wife, Bandslam, District 9, and others -- so if it (or Wife) flinches and gets put off, don't act so surprised. My suggestion? Counter-program against constant comedies on July 10th or Harry Potter on July 17th. We could use something tropical there...
Milla Jovovich, Former Stripper
Filed under: Casting », Deals »
Get ready Milla Jovovich fans -- on top of her zombie butt-kicking ways, and thrillers in paradise, Variety reports that the actress is entering the already-packed halls of stripperdom by signing on for a new comedy called Keep Coming Back. The film focuses on a young, sheltered (and, well, stupid) guy who joins Alcoholics Anonymous just so he can seduce an alcoholic former stripper (Jovovich). While the neverending hordes of new stripper films never fails to irk me, there's a silver lining to the story. The film will be the directorial debut of William H. Macy, who will also co-star alongside Jovovich and Steve Buscemi. I imagine neither of these men are the young guy, so we still get to wait and see who gets the honor of breaking into AA for lust.
Man, time flies. I remember the days when Milla's sexy roles were dancing around for George Kuffs and killing time in the paradise of the Blue Lagoon. Will Aldis wrote the screenplay, and the film will jump into production next year.
Is Taylor Lautner Our Next Superhero?
100 Greatest Films Beyond the Canon
'Entourage' Movie in the Works?
Spielberg Backs Out of 'Harvey'
Discuss: Should Gay Actors Stay in the Closet?
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