oxford murders Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Sometimes I wonder if these little tidbits and sneak peeks help or hinder a film's chances for success. With the nature of the Internet and lightening-fast communications, people often make snap judgments about a film and its relative merits, with only the minimalist of facts. It even happens to your humble Cinematical writers occasionally as well. So, to help facilitate your ability to make snap-judgments, the first pics from the upcoming Elijah Wood starrer The Oxford Murders have hit the web. Now, before you rabid Wood fans (you know who you are) click the link and rush over to the site, there's one caveat -- the site is in Spanish.

Don't get me wrong, I like Spanish. Its a great language. I just don't happen to read it well. If you don't either, all you'll be able to do is look at the pics and you will not get to enjoy any of the commentary on them provided at the site. However, the pics do pretty much speak for themselves and provide a few clues as to the nature of the film. As the film follows the story of students at a highly-regarded English school who investigate a murder, one would assume the pics would include students in various situations that follow that kind of story -- and you would assume correctly.

Among the pics are several featuring Wood looking concerned, discovering a clue and, of course, trying to escape the killer. There's also a pic of the requisite love-interest (played by Leonor Watling), the Sherlock Holmes-like professor who mentors Wood's character (played by John Hurt) and one or two behind-the-scenes photos where director Alex de la Iglesia works with Wood and his co-stars. So go, enjoy. And if any of you read Spanish, how about reporting back and telling us what the site says about the pics?

[via Dark Horizons]

Odds and ends from Tuesday:

• No, John Hurt didn't really commit a murder. The actor has signed on to play a leading role in Alex de la Iglesia's Oxford Murders, based on the award-winning novel by Guillermo Martinez. Iglesia and co-writer Jorge Guerricaechevarria (now, if that's not a long last name, I don't know what is) adapted the book which surrounds an Oxford University professor who finds himself wrapped up in a bunch of murders that appear to be linked by mathematical symbols.
• Though the third installment in the franchise is still in production, folks behind the Resident Evil films are wasting no time casting the fourth flick. According to reports, Jensen Ackles (Supernatural, Dark Angel, Smallville) is in talks to play Leon Kennedy in Resident Evil: Afterlife (the fourth pic's current working title). I've never played the games and have no clue who Kennedy is or whether Ackles would be a good choice (hey, I'm just being honest), so I'll need you fans to chime in on this one.
• In an interview with Moviehole, Will Ferrell answered questions about whether or not he would be down for an Elf 2 and an Old School 2. While a sequel to Elf is in the works, Ferrell admitted to rejecting the idea, saying "Elf 2 got killed. I killed Elf 2." (If you'd allow it, I'd like to pause here to give Ferrell a round of applause for that decision.) As far as Old School Dos goes, the ex-elf confirms it's being written and is anxiously awaiting a read-through.