s. darko Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Spin-ematical: New on DVD for 5/12
Filed under: New Releases », DVD Reviews », New on DVD », Home Entertainment »
Taken
Another action fest from District 13's Pierre Morel, this time Liam Neeson gets to rescue his daughter from slave traders. These glowing words from Eric D. Snider say it all: "it is welcome as a delightfully dizzying balm to soothe the pain inflicted by recent action films that have failed to deliver. It subscribes to the less-talk-more-rock school of thought, intentionally free of nuance but overbrimming with relentless, efficient, energetic mayhem. It plays out like a season of 24, crammed into 90 minutes." Buy it. Also on Blu-ray.
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Passengers
Anne Hathaway has been making waves with her critical successes (Rachel Getting Married), and migraine-inducing romcoms (Bride Wars). But in the midst of all this, Passengers came and went without much more than a glance. A "conspiratorial supernatural thriller," Hathaway plays a grief counselor facing foul play when crash survivors begin to disappear. Skip it. Also on Blu-ray.
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S. Darko
It's such an unnecessary sequel, is there any more to be said? Even if it contains Daveigh Chase? The one surprise -- Elizabeth Berkley as a religious fanatic. Skip it, but I shouldn't need to tell you that.
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Also out: The Grudge 3
The Scary Bits: Return of The Scary Bits
Filed under: Horror », The Scary Bits »
I know, it's been a while since I've written one of these gore-soaked missives, but the upside to that is ... we have a lot to talk about! And since I wrote this during a lazy Sunday (happy belated holidays, btw) I figure it's time to break out the candy-coated bullet points! Let's start out with a freaky fistful of upcoming DVD releases:
Currently strewn across shelves are Donkey Punch and Vinyan, two festival-heavy horror films that couldn't possibly be more different. One's about venal young jerks, and the other is about heartbroken (but stupid) parents. Really bad things happen to all of them.
This Tuesday we're getting the old-school-style monster movie Splinter, which is really quite good. If you like prickly monsters, that is. On the same day ... whoa. It looks like someone actually bothered to exhume flicks like Repossessed, Slaughter High, and My Best Friend Is a Vampire. That sound you just heard was my Netflix queue getting fatter.
Come the 21st we get J.T. Petty's The Burrowers, which played (and played well) at last year's Fantastic Fest, and Robert Hall's Laid to Rest, which is sort of like a non-snarky slasher throwback with a hint of Phantasm-style weirdness. Couldn't find a stranger double feature than these two, believe me.
And mark your calendars, gore-lovers, for April 28, because that's when Martyrs finally hits R1 DVD. According to the UK poster, Scoot Weinberg says it "makes Saw look like Sesame Street," which is one of the most shameless blurbs I've ever heard. Even if the guy is correct, brilliant, and really handsome. (Trust me, this is one rough horror movie.) Also on this Tuesday we'll get the unofficial Donnie Darko sequel, and a movie starring Amber Benson called One-Eyed Monster. I leave the jokes to you fine folks.
Watch This: 'S. Darko' Goes Viral
Filed under: Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Mystery & Suspense », Distribution », Movie Marketing », Trailers and Clips »
I'm on the record regarding my skepticism about the May 12th direct-to-DVD release of S. Darko, so I'll just incorporate this post here instead of rehashing the arguments. But I certainly don't wish the film ill (despite my tongue-in-cheek prior comments to that effect), and I kind of liked this viral video that their marketing folks have put together. If the movie is as creepy and mean-spirited as this little surveillance clip, it might be worth a look.Donnie Darko was an old-school cult hit: it spread by word-of-mouth, in the face of goggle-eyed incompetence on the part of its distributor (Newmarket Films). The sequel has the benefit of a traditional marketing effort: internet ads are everywhere, and stuff like this video is supposed to build buzz. Given the modest expectations for virtually any direct-to-DVD release, I think there'll be enough interest in S. Darko for it to have some measure of success.
As for this clip, I hear this isn't the end of the story...
'S. Darko' Trailer Causes More Fear Than Love
Filed under: Drama », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Thrillers », Mystery & Suspense », 20th Century Fox », Home Entertainment », Remakes and Sequels », Trailers and Clips »
I'm starting to believe that our Eugene Novikov can see into the future.He knew that I was going to say that Donnie Darko, while somewhat overexposed, holds up to this day as a uniquely poignant coming-of-age drama and not so much the "psychological thriller" as claimed on the back of the box. He knew that I'd be a bit more obvious and say that the sister-starring spin-off, S. Darko, sounds like no better of an idea now that it has a direct-to-DVD release date in April as it did when it was announced back last May.
And he probably knew that this newly released trailer, featuring plenty of time tubes and recurring quotes (though only one returning character), really wouldn't do much to change my mind that this is a tangential-at-best follow-up looking to cash in on something truly, terrifically unique. The thing is: he called it two days ago.
I'd like to be wrong, I really would, but when Richard Kelly can't be convinced to bother lending any sort of hand, skepticism seems as strong a course of action as any. (Care to tip us one way or another, Gene?)
Let's Talk About 'S. Darko'
Filed under: Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Distribution », Remakes and Sequels »
It came to my attention today that: a) S. Darko is going direct to DVD on April 28th, with the hideous subtitle "A Donnie Darko Tale" and b) Cinematical has not made mention of this. The news is a couple weeks old, but I found (b) unacceptable.Some films get so much acclaim in so short a time that it becomes sort of unhip to love them. Take American Beauty, for example: I don't think people who adored it when it came out (like me) changed their minds, I think they just sort of burned out on it. Similarly, Donnie Darko's "cult classic" status has been drilled into our heads to such an extent that to place it among one's favorite films seems like a faux pas. Call it overexposure.
But, uh: I love Donnie Darko. I recently got a chance to see the Director's Cut on the big screen: my fourth or fifth viewing of the movie, though the first of the Director's Cut and the first time on film. I do think the longer version gets a bit hung up on the arcane details of "The Philosophy of Time Travel," to its detriment. But even the slightly more self-indulgent cut is extraordinary, a wonderfully sad allegory about the teenage desire to escape -- no, transcend -- the phoniness, banality and evil of the everyday world. (In this sense, it's like a more earnest Catcher in the Rye.) Donnie Darko is also Exhibit A for why the Gyllenhaals are a big deal.
Casting Bites: From Hills That Run Red to S. Darko
Filed under: Horror », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Thrillers », Casting »
Here are some horrorific casting bites, courtesy of Variety:Have you ever adored a man from just one role, even if you haven't/don't see him in much else? That's me and William Sadler, whose name always catapults me back to Friday the 13th, 1995 when Demon Knight opened in theaters, and his Brayker took on Billy Zane's The Collector. Now the actor is teaming up with Sophie Monk for a new slasher movie called The Hills Run Red, which is filming in Bulgaria. The film focuses on a movie fan who is obsessed with finding a full print of a slasher movie, finds himself in the woods where the film was shot, and then realizes that the filming never ended. Dum, dum, dum.
Also, further cast have signed on for the dreaded sequel -- S. Darko. Now, if you pop over to Variety, don't get excited thinking Paige Davis has signed on. While her picture is currently attached to the post (as of 11 AM), it's actually Matt Davis, who played Reese Witherspoon's snooty boyfriend in Legally Blonde, who has signed onto the film with James Lafferty (One Tree Hill). Sorry, Trading Spaces fans. Meanwhile, Briana Evigan defended the film on Friday, but even with her glowing recommendation, I still think this sequel is one of the dumbest movie moves in a while.
'Donnie Darko' Sequel Adds Elizabeth Berkeley
Filed under: Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Casting », Scripts », Remakes and Sequels »
So it looks like I have to disabuse myself of the notion that this story was some sort of fever dream or hallucination on my part. A Donnie Darko sequel, titled S. Darko, is happening, and Elizabeth Berkeley, that fearless queen of the C-list, has joined the cast. She will play "a speed freak-turned-Jesus freak whose sentiments about ridding the world of its exponential sin are rivaled only by her infatuation with her dreamy pastor." No word on who plays the dreamy pastor, but Berkeley joins Justin Chatwin, Ed Westwick and the original film's Daveigh Chase. Chase reprises her role as Donnie's sister Samantha, who leaves Sparkle Motion to go on a road trip with her best friend (Brianna Evigan) only to be plagued by nightmarish visions.What's most curious about S. Darko is that while it has begun production, with television veteran Chris Fisher at the helm, I can't find word anywhere about who the screenwriter is. What gives? The stories about the film have given the impression that Fisher was hired by the producers to direct; if so, where did the project originate? It seemed to come out of nowhere earlier in the month.
I'm not sure any admirer of Donnie Darko can reasonably be optimistic about this sequel. The first film is so wonderfully self-contained that the very notion of a sequel is kind of heartbreaking. And it seemed so personal to maestro Richard Kelly that doing it without him (he's not involved in any way) seems offensive.
Donnie Darko Sequel Coming -- Unfortunately
Filed under: Classics », Drama », Horror », Independent », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Thrillers », Deals », Celebrities and Controversy », Newsstand »
It sounds like a prank. We would all like it to be one. But it seems to be legit.
The story comes from Screen Daily, who reports that S. Darko is being shopped around, with Fox already picking up the North American distribution rights. Touted as the sequel to the 2001 cult hit, the story picks up seven years after Donnie Darko left off. The youngest Darko, Samantha, is now 18 and abandoning her commitment to Sparkle Motion. She heads to Las Vegas with her best friend Corey, but the two are plagued with bizarre visions. I imagine they will involve a rabbit.
Richard Kelly, the original director, is in no way involved. Chris Fincher Fisher* will direct instead. Daveigh Chase, who played Samantha in the original, will reprise her role. It looks like she is the only one. The movie also stars Ed Westwick, Briana Evigan, and Justin Chatwin.
As to the big looming question of why, oh God, why, Simon Crowe of UK sales company Velvet Octopus says they're thinking of the children. "I think there is a new generation of cinema-goers who will be very excited to see this film."
Which generation came of age between 2001 and 2008? Why haven't they rented Donnie Darko? I am afraid these are questions to which Crowe has no answers. But he did quip, "Donnie's not in [the new film] but there are meteorites and rabbits."
Nothing is safe from the all mighty dollar, my friends. Nothing. Even when there is a pretty conclusive ending, there can always be a sequel. I'll leave you to think about that as I go pen my script for No Country for Old Men 2.
[via Empire]
*Very kind thanks to astute reader toad_stone for pointing out our egregious misspelling of director Chris Fisher's last name. Correction made, with our apologies. - Ed.
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