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Review: Lou Reed's Berlin

Filed under: Documentary », Independent », Music & Musicals », Theatrical Reviews », The Weinstein Co. », Cinematical Indie »



One thing you should know about the Julian Schnabel-directed concert documentary Lou Reed's Berlin is that Lou Reed has personally instructed theaters to play the film at concert-level volume. That means it's really, really loud. When I saw it (at NYC's Film Forum, which is following Reed's command throughout the film's limited engagement), an elder woman walked out. Of course, I can't be sure that it was due to the sound, though the exit was during one of the loudest songs.

The volume may seem excessive and unnecessary to some, but at a time when concert docs are shown in IMAX and/or in 3-D, it really helps a film like Lou Reed's Berlin compete for audiences seeking a filmic experience comparable to the real thing. And leaving the theater with your ears ringing will help you think that you were actually there when Reed performed his 1973 album Berlin live for the first (and second, third and fourth) time in Brooklyn, New York, December 14-17, 2006.

Marky Mark, Shooter

Filed under: Action », Drama », Thrillers », Casting », Paramount », Newsstand »

After months of talks, Mark Wahlberg has agreed with Paramount to star in Shooter, to be directed by Antoine Fuqua. The film is based on Point of Impact, Stephen Hunter's novel about "a master sniper [Wahlberg] lured out of a reclusive existence to prevent an assassination. He's double-crossed and hunted for a murder." Ooooh - damn that military and its deception. Since one review of the book refers to the sniper as "a thinking man's Rambo," I'm guessing he doesn't take the double-crossing lying down. The film has already been in development twice, once with Keanu Reeves as the sniper, and once with Robert Redford, so no one can be blamed for not believing in this one until film is actually exposed.

Also in the works for Wahlberg and Fuqua at Paramount is By Any Means Necessary, a "terrorist drama" with Al Pacino. Though this film was initially scheduled to shoot first, Pacino and Paul Attanasio, who is doing a rewrite of the script, have been unavailable, so Shooter, the screenplay for which is ready to go, might actually go ahead.
 
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