MichaelChiklis Tagged Articles at Cinematical

I already like the sound of this one: After taking a puff alongside the school stoner, a high school valedictorian decides to get the whole student body stoned, enough so for them to collectively fail the same drug test he finds himself up against.

That's the thrust behind the new comedy High School, which looks to begin production in early November, and according to this Variety notice, Adrien Brody (The Brothers Bloom) has signed on to play a drug dealer, while Michael Chiklis (Eagle Eye) will take up the role of principal, a move that'll likely play to his stoic strengths. (Bruce Willis worked wonders with a similar part in the still unreleased Assassination of a High School President; a greater pity because it's a fairly fun little flick overall.)

There is only so much else left to say about the project. It'll be directed by John Stalberg Jr., who co-wrote the screenplay with Stephen Susco (of the Grudge films) and... that's really about it for now, though -- dare I suggest -- Stalberg and Susco still have time to throw the word 'Musical' into that title somewhere and simply wait for the money to roll in. Either way, it sounds like a shortage of green will be the least of their worries.

I just danced a little Irish jig right here at my desk. In an interview over at MTVMoviesblog, Michael Chiklis discusses the "very real" possibility of a big-screen version of one of my favorite television shows -- The Shield. If you haven't seen The Shield (fool!), you may know Chiklis as The Thing from the Fantastic Four movies -- works that have received slightly less critical acclaim than the excellent FX drama. Says Chiklis, "Wow, there are a lot of questions about the potential of a Shield movie these days. I don't dismiss the possibility at all. I think it's potentially very real. It would all really depend on the idea. We are very, very protective of The Shield." And just as I'm in mid-jig, Chiklis clarifies: "I don't think The Shield will be a movie," he said of the series. "But I think that there's potential for Vic Mackey to be in a movie." Well. You lost me there, Chiklets.

I think Vic Mackey is a phenomenal character, and I love Chiklis' portrayal -- at times he is so intense it looks like he's going to pop a testicle. I would totally see a Vic Mackey movie ("This Christmas...Vic Mackey is Back - ey!"), but as a big fan of the show, I'd want to see all the other terrific supporting characters up there as well. What about Shane? Claudette? My absolute favorite -- Dutch? You wouldn't do The Simpsons Movie with just Homer! Also, if this does happen someday, it would be very wise of the producers to bring back Forest Whitaker as Kavanaugh. He was so insanely great on the show that this season felt lacking after his departure. A Kavanaugh/Mackey big-screen battle of the nutjobs -- now you got yourself a movie! If the film happens, it might just have to be a prequel -- in the cutthroat world of The Shield, Chiklis isn't even sure Mackey will live to see the finale. "It really depends on if he even survives this season. Because, with these writers, you don't really know. I don't think they even know yet how it's going to end ... but there's no question that it could go on."

You've got to like a movie that gives us a nude Lucy Liu, shot high and from behind, and then moves her slowly over to a full-length mirror where all will be revealed ... but she's a vampire, so no reflection! Rise: Blood Hunter, from director Sebastian Gutierrez, is a cheap and dirty mash-up of the vampire and revenge genres, following L.A. reporter Sadie Blake (Liu) as her quest to find out who murdered a goth vampire wanna-be lands her on the menu of the real vampires behind the crime. Unfortunately for them, some potent blend of reporter moxie and girl power prevents her from staying dead like they planned -- she ends up kicking open and crawling out of the morgue drawer she was stuffed into, pissed off and shaking like a heroin addict for want of blood. Soon enough, she'll adjust to her new lifestyle and even acquire two must-have accessories: a girly little crossbow as a signature weapon and a vampire mentor who encourages her to "embrace your shadow side," whatever that means.

Sadie's shadow side is apparently the side that allows her to kill and dine on innocents, and not even particularly annoying innocents, as is sometimes the loophole. Picking up a reasonable young hitchhiker at one point, she quizzes him: "Do you have a wife? Have a girlfriend?" After giving all the wrong answers, he's lunch. Hey, she's a vampire -- vampires gotta eat. I have to say I wasn't expecting such a morally troublesome hero to emerge from those paragons of virtue at Sam Raimi's Ghosthouse Pictures, but I like it! Blood Hunter succeeds through edgy little moments like that one, along with an assortment of nude scenes, each one shot in such conspicuously low light that it smacks of actress protest, which somehow makes more enjoyable, in a perverted way. Sadly, there's no virtuoso special effects or cinematography -- there was more visual originality in a ten minute vampire short included in the anthology Paris Je T'Aime, released this weekend -- but there is enough here that works to make up a picture that's good for a Saturday night.

Eight weeks before Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer hits theaters, a number of Youtube videos have popped up featuring a giggly fat man in silver body paint and bald cap who walks around what looks like Venice interacting with the locals and declaring himself to be the real Silver Surfer, as opposed to the toned figure on the billboards. "I wanted to play myself and they said 'no.' I wanted to play Mr. Fantastic and they said 'no.' Racism. It's because of my skin color." I'll say this for Fox's viral marketing department -- at least these clips are mildly amusing. The best one features the chubby Surfer actually attempting to surf. "It's a beautiful morning," he says, chatting up a guy next to him who is also about to go out. "Kind of reminds me of the great deepness of space, you know? Kind of goes on forever." He then takes a running start at the water and freaks out because the water is too cold.

The other three videos aren't quite as good as the surfing one, and the one where he offers "surfing lessons from the Silver Surfer" on the street corner cuts way too fast for us to discern anything about what's going on. Fox should hire a cameraman who knows the principles of comedy a little better. Nevertheless, like I said, it's pretty funny if you're looking for something to watch on a rainy day, as it actually is today. I'll close by reiterating the point of the whole thing -- Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer opens in theaters on June 15.