munich Tagged Articles at Cinematical

When you're dealing with one of the most controversial figures of 20^th century counterculture, it's important to take your time and get things right. That's exactly what Steven Soderbergh appears to be doing with his two upcoming Che Guevara biopics, The Argentine and Guerilla. While both movies looked like they were set to premiere at next month's Cannes Film Festival just a few weeks ago, Variety now reports that Soderbergh is still tweaking the final cuts-and doesn't want to unveil one movie without the other.

Judging by the polarizing figure at the center of the story, that's probably a good thing. Since Soderbergh envisioned these two films as a single unit, it wouldn't make sense to reveal one half of the saga and let people start tearing into it. Considering Fidel Castro's recent retirement, this essential component of Cuban history seems especially relevant, but that's not enough to develop interest in it (topicality didn't help Steven Spielberg's Munich). It's hard to keep audiences interested in a story that stretches across two movies, as we learned with the muted reaction to Clint Eastwood's second Iwo Jima film. Soderbergh will need to get strong reactions to both movies early in the game if they're going to have any success in theaters.

The word is right there at the beginning of the headline, but I'll go ahead and say it again. This post includes spoilers. Do not read this post if you don't want to know the plot of Magneto. Fans of The X-Men beware or enjoy. Yes, over at Obsessed With Film, they've learned the entire plot of the X-Men spin-off, written by David S. Goyer, who will also direct. Deciding not to reveal every plot point, OWF's Will Reynolds provides the basics, including the fact that the film will have bookending scenes set in Poland at the 60th Anniversary of the Auschwitz Liberation. After the basically present-day opening, Magneto heads back in time to that prelude in X-Men, where young Erik Lehnsherr (aka Magneto) destroys the concentration camp's gates. He's then experimented on by Nazi scientists, including a Dr. Kleinman.

Fast forward to the Ukraine, where we see Erik married to Magda, with whom he has a daughter, Anya. So far, we're following the comics pretty well. Then, apparently both Magda and Anya are killed when townspeople burn down the Lehnsherr's home (it should only be Anya, right?). From there, the spin-off follows the plotline in which Magneto goes Nazi hunting. Erik ends up in Paris and then moves to Argentina, where he searches for Dr. Kleinman with the help of a CIA agent. Eventually the plot moves on to Israel, where Erik meets a soccer-playing Charles Xavier (aka Professor X), who is said to be good at helping Holocaust survivors. Will the duo gang up to fight Baron Von Strucker and HYDRA? We'll have to wait and see ...

Of course, there are more details over at OWF, as I think if you really don't mind spoilers, you might want to check out the site. From the description they've provided so far, the film seems more like a drama, like Munich, than a super-hero action flick. OWF also says Magneto, which may actually be fully titled X-Men Origins: Magneto, will feature Senator Kelly (young and old), Victor Creed (aka Sabretooth, who also shows up in the Wolverine spin-off -- good news for Tyler Mane) and Mystique.

This is a lot more information than I was able to provide last week, and I have to thank OWF for giving just enough of a synopsis to keep me excited without feeling like I don't need to see the movie (like I would ever think I didn't need to see this!). The site likens the screenplay to Goyer's script for Batman Begins, combined with The Boys from Brazil (which is being remade just in time to go head to head with Magneto) and, of course, the X-Men trilogy. Keep in mind, as always, these are only rumors and the completed film could always head in a different direction.

   • Big Momma's House 2 - In Martin Lawrence's desperate minstrel show, the comedian reprises his role as undercover FBI agent Malcolm Turner, again donning a fat suit to become the sassy, black Southern matron Big Momma. He has to stop a potentially destructive computer hacker, and the movie is broad, shameless and pandering in most every respect. Lawrence appears to assume that we automatically like him and Big Momma, and does little to endear them to us any further. Incessant mugging, weak slapstick and Teflon catchphrases fill in the many cracks of its already shaky foundation, leaving a hammy house of horrors that should have been condemned when it was still a half-baked pitch.
    • Grandma's Boy - Adam Sandler's longtime second-banana, Allen Covert, gets his shot at a lead in this stoner comedy, but despite his appealing, aw-shucks demeanor, the movie, about a 36-year-old video game tester who moves in with his grandmother and her two roommates, is just irredeemably stupid. It is sad to see three lovely ladies like Doris Roberts, Shirley Jones and Shirley Knight stooping for laughs like this, though based on the fact that practically no one saw it in theaters (or will go out of their way to rent the DVD), it is a very minor tragedy.

It's hard to believe, I know, but it's been a whole year since Cinematical was officially born. Actually, our birthday was last Saturday, March 10, but we were so busy with our heads buried in movies we let it slip right by. A lot has changed around here in the past year - we've gone from being a little film blog with former editor Karina Longworth blogging all by her lonesome, to a site with a full-fledged staff, covering festivals, reviewing lots of movies, and bringing you up-to-the-minute movie news. Now Karina has moved on to another project (although we're very glad she's still around writing her excellent new column, Laws and Sausages, and doing some other cool stuff for us), and spandy-new Editor-in-Chief James Rocchi is at the helm, with Martha Fischer and me rounding out the editorial team, working hard to continue to bring you what you've been coming here for, while adding a few refinements here and there. It's been a great year at Cinematical, and we're looking forward to the next one. In the meantime, here's a look back at the past year in Cinematical:

 

It's cold and rainy here in blustery Seattle, so why not go catch a movie? Here's a roundup of some of the film offerings around the Emerald City:

FREE MOVIES IN SEATTLE! 

Sure, you can listen to your fave radio station to find out about those nifty free preview screenings.  But if you're really a movie buff, you might want to check out Janet's Film Club at Janet Wainwright PR. They'll send you passes to get in free to lots of preview screenings! The only catch? Use 'em or lose 'em.

UW Film Club 

Japenese Film Series - Supermarket Woman (1996, Itami Juzo). Japanese comedy about a woman (Miyamoto Nobuko) hired to remake a small grocery store to compete against a large chain. Thursday, March 9 @ 7:30PM, UW Savery 239

A Moveable Feast  - Check out a rough cut of this film, by a former UW student. And it's free! At the Ethnic Cultural Center, 3940 Brooklyn Ave NE.

Seattle Jewish Film Festival March 5-19 - This year marks the 11th year of the Seattle Jewish Film Festival, and they have a fantastic lineup. This year's fest runs at three venues: Seattle's Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI), AMC Pacific Place, and Majestic Bay Theaters in Ballard. The festival really kicks into high gear this week, with an interesting lineup of films:

March 11 - The opening night film is Live and Become, which you can have with dessert at the 7PM showing (for passholders special ticket holders only), or without at 9:50PM. The film, which won the audience award at the 2005 Berlinale, tells the story of a young Ethiopian boy in the 1980s whose mother places him with a group of Ethiopian Jewish refugees to save him from the famine. As he grows from a boy into a man under his assumed identity, the lie under which he has lived begins to take its toll.

Check out the full lineup to see when other films are playing.

 

Thankfully, the Oscars are done for another year. We have some very interesting and astute comments from Cinematical readers on our Oscar posts:

Nobody commented on Tom Hank's really bad hairdo, but plenty of you noticed that he seemed to be saying "f***ing moron" or "f***ing idiot" as he stormed on stage to present the Best Director award. Many of our readers have speculated that his apparent anger was in response to host Jon Stewart's comment about the Brokeback Mountain screenwriters wearing jeans; others thought perhaps he was being rushed. Whatever the cause, people were rather shocked at Mr. Nice Guy Hanks using such language at the Oscars.

Steven Spielberg spoke to Fox News columnist Roger Friedman last night at the Academy Governor's Ball and the director claimed that he's taking a year off. His film, Munich, was so non-existent at the Oscars, if it weren't for the random shots of Spielberg, I would have forgotten all about it. What was it called again?

Anyway, while this news obviously means we are waiting that much longer for Indy 4, it does not mean there won't be a sequel. According to Spielberg, he is still directing the film...sometime before he dies. Phew. Also, it appears as if Jeff Nathanson, who wrote the latest draft of Indy 4, has been taken out of the game for reliever David Koepp. Spielberg says, "I have David Koepp in it now, and he's my closer." Well, if the story is anything like Koepp's version of War of the Worlds, then it appears as if this one may slip away from us in the bottom of the ninth.

Well, the Oscars are over. It's been a long and often mind-numbingly boring Oscar night (especially the acceptance speeches), but we, like Jon Stewart, stuck it out until the bittersweet end. What did everyone think of Stewart as the Oscar host? I was really impressed with Stewart, myself.  I was worried the audience wouldn't be real responsive to his jokes. His brand of humor is political, highbrow and snarky, and I wondered how he would go over with a theater full of insecure movie stars. I loved the Daily Show-style bits they did in-between too, although I think the humor went over the heads of some of the stars. Reese Witherspoon got it, though - she's a smart cookie, don't let the cutesy looks fool you for a second.

Here, for your perusing pleasure, is the list of all the winners and nominees from the major categories (winners are in bold and marked with an asterisk). Give us your thoughts on Oscar night -  the winners, the losers, whose outfits you loved and hated, what you thought of Stewart as the host - whatever your thoughts are, we want to hear them.

 

Dustin Hoffman cruises up to present the award for Best Adapted Screenplay, looking cool. He hasn't changed at all. He must have gotten into Dick Clark's secret youth potion. He gives some props to the losers, which probably doesn't really help make them feel better. But thanks anyhow. If Brokeback wins this it probably won't win Best Picture. The nominees are:

Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana, Brokeback Mountain
Dan Futterman, Capote
Jeffrey Caine, The Constant Gardener
Josh Olson, A History of Violence
Tony Kushner and Eric Roth, Munich

Let's see who the winner is...

Yup, it's Brokeback Mountain. This is the second minor award for Brokeback Mountain. Annie Proulx is there, but the stupid cameraman pans to Ang Lee instead of her. Okay, so either Brokeback is going to pull a Return of the King and sweep everything -- or it's gonna get shut out on Best Picture and Best Director.  If Crash wins Best Original Screenplay it could still be a toss-up. Munich is getting totally shut out so far - not a good night for Spielberg.

I just woke up from a nap during the incredibly boring, self-congratulatory speech by Sid Ganis that preceded this award. Wow, Salma Hayek looks mui caliente in that turquoise dress, and she's not even a nominee this year. Isn't there some rule that presenters cannot look hotter than the nominees? Now the orchestra is treating us to a nap-inducing medley of the original score nominees. Not that music isn't important, we just don't care that much.

Nominees:

Gustavo Santaolalla, Brokeback Mountain
Alberto Iglesias, The Constant Gardener
John Williams, Memoirs of a Geisha
John Williams, Munich
Dario Marianelli, Pride & Prejudice

And the Oscar goes to...Gustavo Santaolalla for Brokeback Mountain.  Mmmm...if Brokeback starts winning all the little awards, that may not speak well for it winning Best Picture later on. We'll have to see what happens. Ang Lee and the Brokeback gang don't look especially happy about winning this category. Also, this guy is talking way too long and thanking everyone he's ever known, and  -- oooh! -- there's the gratuitous shot of the winner's spouse in tears. Yes. very touching. Lets move on.