miracle at st. anna Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Movies I Will Never See: The Da Vinci Code
Filed under: Drama »
Despite the fact that my family members should have owned stock in Dan Brown's bibliography given how much of it they read, and of course the rest of the world devoted years to discussing the historical possibilities of his fiction, I never read The Da Vinci Code. Quite frankly, I'm not much of a reader, owing primarily to the amount of time I spend writing, but the last book I curled up with was one about the diminishing intelligence of the American people, although for the life of me I can't remember what it was called.
In any case, I had no particular feelings about the fact that Ron Howard was adapting Brown's best seller into a feature film, with the possible exception of my superficial determination that Tom Hanks' hair was simply terrible. But when I didn't have to review or cover it professionally, I decided not only that I would save my money for something more worthwhile (I mean, Poseidon came out two weeks prior), but that The Da Vinci Code was going to be a movie that I would never, ever see.
Discuss: For Your Razzie Consideration
Filed under: Action », Comedy », Drama », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Thrillers », Awards », Mystery & Suspense », Disney », Lionsgate Films », Warner Brothers », 20th Century Fox », Remakes and Sequels », War »
As the season marches on, 'for your consideration' ads litter the trades and various awards analysis websites. However, there aren't nearly enough campaigns for the year's worst performances.You have your obnoxious kids (Jaden Smith in The Day The Earth Stood Still, Logan Lerman in Meet Bill). You have your touched individuals who straddle the line between functional and, ahem, 'full retard' (Sophie Okonedo in The Secret Life of Bees, Omar Benson Miller in Miracle at St. Anna, David Morse in Hounddog). You've got your guys that give 'insane' a bad name (Jason Butler Harner in Changeling, Donny Osmond in College Road Trip), and you've got your girls that give English a bad name (Ahney Her in Gran Torino, Natalya Rudakova in Transporter 3).
Oh, and then there's just about the entire cast of The Happening. (If I had to pick just one person, though, I'd go with the gardener who babbles on about hot dogs. The man's priceless.)
So, unless we're about to let Witless Protection sweep the Razzies, what were some of your least favorite performances of the year?
Weekend Box Office: 'Eagle Eye' Relieves the Boredom
Filed under: New Releases », Box Office »
Not a lot of people liked Eagle Eye (I thought it wasn't bad, myself), but at least it broke up the box office monotony a bit. Its $29.2 million finish is the highest weekend gross for any movie since the first weekend in August (The Dark Knight's third week at the top). A combination of strong marketing and Shia LaBeouf's draw probably did the trick for the film, which had a slew of bad reviews to overcome. The Nicholas Sparks weeper Nights in Rodanthe took in $13.6 million for second place. That is actually almost precisely in line with Sparks' hit The Notebook, but that film hung around for weeks back in 2004, buoeyed by strong word-of-mouth. That seems unlikely for the more soap opera-ish Rodanthe.
Sneaking its way to fourth place on just over 800 screens is a movie called Fireproof, which you may not have run across unless you're a regular churchgoer. (We literally have not mentioned it here on Cinematical.) The Christian-themed movie starring Kirk Cameron had the second best per-screen average in the top 10, demonstrating the continued potency of marketing to religious audiences. Spike Lee's more obliquely religious Miracle at St. Anna, on the other hand, flopped with $3.5 million and 9th place.
A bit below the top 10, in semi-wide release, the Chuck Palahniuk adaptation Choke performed unspectacularly with $1.3 million on 435 screens. Still further down you'll find one of the year's most undignified crash-and-burns: Neil Burger's The Lucky Ones, about three soldiers returned from Iraq, which landed in 25th place with $208,000 on 425 screens, for $489 per screen. Ouch.
Find the full weekend estimates after the jump.
Interview: 'Miracle at St. Anna' Director Spike Lee
Filed under: Drama », New Releases », Disney », Celebrities and Controversy », New in Theaters », Politics », Interviews », Toronto International Film Festival », War »
In Miracle at St. Anna, four African-American soldiers are trapped behind enemy lines in Italy near the end of World War II; caught between indifferent leadership and hostile troops, the four fight to survive -- and protect the Italian villagers they've come to know during their exile. Director Spike Lee spoke with Cinematical from New York about the challenges of film financing in modern Hollywood ("it's hard to get stuff made today that's not superhero, comic-book, TV show, sequel stuff. ..."), shooting in an 800-year-old Italian town (" ... all we had to do was take down the satellite dishes ...") and the challenges his new film faces (" ... historically, women do not run to see, or even walk to see, or even crawl to see World War II films ..."), The Wire ("'Omar's Coming!'"), sequel possibilities for Inside Man and more.
Lee even touched on politics and race in the here-and-now: "I'm optimistic. We're going to have a Black president. The 44th President of the United States is going to be a Black man ... I think this is a definite indication of how far America has moved in how it views race. ..."
Cinematical: I was very curious if you could talk a little bit about the genesis of what brought you specifically to Miracle at St. Anna as a film?
Spike Lee: I needed something to read; I went into my wife's office; looked up on her shelf upon shelf of books (laughs) and the spirit told me to go to this one book -- all the time my head is twisted to the side, trying to read the titles -- read this title, Miracle at St. Anna; that sounds interesting; take the book off the shelf, see the cover of a Black soldier with a young Italian kid, World War II, said "Let me read this. ..." After the first chapter, I said "I want to make this into a film, called up James McBride, we met ... and here we are. That's the abbreviated version. ...
Review: Miracle at St. Anna
Filed under: Drama », Disney », Theatrical Reviews », Celebrities and Controversy », War »
(With Miracle at St. Anna opening this week, we at Cinematical are re-running our review from the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival.)
By James Rocchi
Spike Lee's films have always been fraught with the potential for greatness and disaster, shuddering with a nervy wire-walking energy that makes them superb when they stay on the narrow space between ambition and execution and gives you a long time to watch the fall when they don't. But that, of course, is what makes them worth watching; for but one example, the only thing more shocking than the realization that there was a musical number in Malcolm X was the realization of how superbly it worked; Lee's films are rarely undeniably perfect, but they are always undeniably his.
So it is with Miracle at St. Anna, a bold, sprawling, messy epic of war and faith set behind enemy lines in 1944, as a group of four African-American soldiers are trapped far from their fellow troops in German-occupied Italy. There are moments here where the film does not work, where you can feel the sharp needle of disbelief or dislocation puncture the film mercilessly, and there are other moments that are not only willing but indeed eager to look at big, challenging, relevant issues of race and power, war and justice, faith and failure. These moments -- and there are many of them -- not only speak to Lee's unwavering skill and commitment as a filmmaker, but also to the singular nature of his talent and will. When Miracle at St. Anna falters, it's in the moments that seem like they could have been crafted by any other film maker; when Miracle at St. Anna succeeds, it's in the moments that could only have been crafted by Lee.
Box Office: The 'Eagle' Has Landed
Filed under: New Releases », Box Office »
Unsurprisingly, the Samuel L. Jackson thriller Lakeview Terrace won box office honors last weekend with a solid $15 mil. Of the week's two wild cars, one fizzled (Ghost Town), while the other prospered (Igor). Lesson learned: Never underestimate adorable hunchbacks.
1. Lakeview Terrace - $15.0 million
2. Burn After Reading - $11. 0 million
3. My Best Friend's Girl - $8.2 million
4. Igor - $7.8 million
5. Righteous Kill - $7.4 million
This week's openings:
Eagle Eye
What It's About: Shia LaBeouf is forced to do all sorts of nasty things by an unfriendly cell phone caller.
Why It Might Do Well: LaBeouf is insanely popular, and so is talking on your cell phone wherever you go (including screenings of Eagle Eye).
Why It Might Not: Reviews have not been kind, but most PG-13 LaBeouf fans could probably care less.
Number of Theaters: 3,300
Prediction: $26 million
1. Lakeview Terrace - $15.0 million
2. Burn After Reading - $11. 0 million
3. My Best Friend's Girl - $8.2 million
4. Igor - $7.8 million
5. Righteous Kill - $7.4 million
This week's openings:
Eagle EyeWhat It's About: Shia LaBeouf is forced to do all sorts of nasty things by an unfriendly cell phone caller.
Why It Might Do Well: LaBeouf is insanely popular, and so is talking on your cell phone wherever you go (including screenings of Eagle Eye).
Why It Might Not: Reviews have not been kind, but most PG-13 LaBeouf fans could probably care less.
Number of Theaters: 3,300
Prediction: $26 million
TIFF Review: Miracle at St. Anna
Filed under: Action », Disney », Theatrical Reviews », Festival Reports », Toronto International Film Festival », War »
Spike Lee's films have always been fraught with the potential for greatness and disaster, shuddering with a nervy wire-walking energy that makes them superb when they stay on the narrow space between ambition and execution and gives you a long time to watch the fall when they don't. But that, of course, is what makes them worth watching; for but one example, the only thing more shocking than the realization that there was a musical number in Malcolm X was the realization of how superbly it worked; Lee's films are rarely undeniably perfect, but they are always undeniably his.
So it is with Miracle at St. Anna, a bold, sprawling, messy epic of war and faith set behind enemy lines in 1944, as a group of four African-American soldiers are trapped far from their fellow troops in German-occupied Italy. There are moments here where the film does not work, where you can feel the sharp needle of disbelief or dislocation puncture the film mercilessly, and there are other moments that are not only willing but indeed eager to look at big, challenging, relevant issues of race and power, war and justice, faith and failure. These moments -- and there are many of them -- not only speak to Lee's unwavering skill and commitment as a filmmaker, but also to the singular nature of his talent and will. When Miracle at St. Anna falters, it's in the moments that seem like they could have been crafted by any other film maker; when Miracle at St. Anna succeeds, it's in the moments that could only have been crafted by Lee.
Was Will Smith Offered Captain America?
Filed under: Action », Casting », RumorMonger », Fandom », Comic/Superhero/Geek »
Just when you thought Marvel was trying to get a blue-eyed, blonde-haired muscle head to play Captain America in their upcoming live-action flick, MTV sneaks onto the scene with one whopper of a rumor. While speaking to Derek Luke about Miracle at St. Anna up in Toronto, the actor let slip that, as far as he knows, Will Smith was offered the part of Captain America. Bet you didn't see that one coming.
Now keep in mind this is just a rumor right now -- and Luke could either have the wrong info or he could be screwing around; we don't know. However, I wouldn't put it past Marvel to switch things up and throw Smith into the role. Not only did Smith do a fine job as a homeless, alcoholic superhero in need of rehabilitation in this summer's Hancock, but the dude would guarantee a gigantic opening box office. As MTV points out, Marvel has changed the color of characters before; most notably with Nick Fury (who used to be a middle-aged white man, and was recently played by Samuel L. Jackson in Iron Man).
Hey, I'm all for it. We're close to electing the first African American president in the United States, so why not bring on the first black Captain America*? Just makes the eventual Avengers flick that much more interesting, huh?
The First Avenger: Captain America is due in theaters in May, 2011.
*Actually, Smith would technically be the second black Captain America; Isaiah Bradley (name of character) was the first.
UPDATE: AICN tells us that Marvel has debunked this, saying they've never offered Will Smith the role.
The Rocchi Review -- With Kim Voynar of Cinematical
Filed under: New Releases », Telluride », Festival Reports », Podcasts », Exhibition », Interviews », Toronto International Film Festival », Cinematical Indie », The Rocchi Review: Online Film Community Podcast »
With Fall Festival season about to kick off, this week The Rocchi Review features James chatting with Cinematical's Film Festivals Editor Kim Voynar about the strange splendor of the Telluride Film Festival, what the most-anticipated movies will be at this year's Toronto Film Festival and much, much more. Will Zack and Miri Make a Porno make a splash? Will Rachel Getting Married get Anne Hathaway some respect? And does one of the most-anticipated films for Toronto really star Jean-Claude Van Damme? Cinematical's podcast is now available through iTunes; you can subscribe at this link. Also, you can listen directly here at Cinematical by clicking below:
As ever, you can download the entire podcast right here -- and those of you with RSS Podcast readers can find all of Cinematical's podcast content at this link.
More Big Toronto Premieres: 'Miracle at St. Anna,' 'Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist'
Filed under: Toronto International Film Festival »
I would like to punch Variety in the face for writing "preem" instead of "premiere," as in "Spike Lee's WWII pic Miracle at St. Anna will world preem at the Toronto Film Festival." Yeah, I know, they use this sort of cutesy Hollywood "inside baseball" terminology left and right -- I find all of it irritating, but preem? Seriously? That is nothing if not horrible. And it's all of three letters shorter than the whole word.Anyway, the unnecessary slang obfuscates what I want to write about: Miracle at St. Anna will have its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in early September. The other big get Toronto announced yesterday is the world premiere of Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist, the indie kid romantic comedy starring Michael Cera. I'm much more excited about that one, to be honest. Prestige war movies are a dime a dozen; Michael Cera playing "a member of the queercore band 'The Jerk Offs'" is something special.
Also announced: Kathryn Bigelow's Iraq actioner The Hurt Locker, a drama called Disgrace with John Malkovich, and a few others. This is in addition to the 27 films announced last week.
This will be my first year attending Toronto (back-to-back with Telluride, where I've gone four times now), so needless to say I am aquiver with anticipation.
Peter Jackson Says Spielberg's 'Tintin' is Done Filming, but...
Interracial Harmony: 'Ninja Assassin' vs. 'Blind Side'
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Exclusive 'Nine' Poster Premiere!
Exclusive: Title Track for 'The Road' Soundtrack
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