the last kiss Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Ever since I decided to watch all 8 episodes of the HBO show Tell Me You Love Me this weekend (not the greatest idea, mind you), not only am I searching for a therapist but I also have sex on the mind (how could you not after watching that show?).Over at Nerve, they've gone ahead and satisfied their ever-growing sex addictions by putting together a list comparing the sex scenes in a number of films that have been fortunate enough to undergo the remake treatment over the years. This list is part of their new Film Issue, which happens to contain a plethora of sex-related stuff like sex advice from movie extras, a piece on Fast Times at Ridgemont High as it relates to teenage lust, and something on Ken Russell's phallic fixation ... among other things. But it was this list -- on sex scenes -- that I found the most interesting.

For example, you'd think the obvious choice would be to always side with the original, not the remake. But when it comes to L'Ultimo Bacio, otherwise known as The Last Kiss when it was re-made here in the states starring Zach Braff, it's the remake's sex scene that ultimately wins out. Yes, Zach Braff managed to provide a hotter, steamier sex scene than the very sexy Italian actor Stefano Accorsi (oh, and Rachel Bilson ... words cannot express the thoughts I had while, um ... nevermind). Among some of the films discussed are Swept Away (1974) vs. Swept Away (2002), The End of the Affair (1955) vs. The End of the Affair (1999), Alfie (1966) vs. Alfie (2004) and Open Your Eyes (1997) vs. Vanilla Sky (2001) -- both of which featured a very topless Penelope Cruz. Of course, the folks at Nerve do help you out a bit by providing clips of each sex scene so that you, at home, can decide which was better: the original or the remake. Yes, and that also means there is some NSFW nudity, so keep that in mind before you go clicking like a mad man (or woman).

[Thanks Lauren]

While surfing online this afternoon, I stumbled upon three pretty funny videos and wondered, "Gee, some of the readers over at Cinematical might enjoy these." Okay, I lied -- first I wondered whether or not I had any food in the fridge, and then came the videos. Check it out:

• Lots and lots of buzz is surrounding a few of the performances in Todd Field's Little Children, but did you ever wonder what the little children are saying about Little Children? Granted, the film itself is in no way targeted towards little children, but there is this comical teaser trailer over on YouTube called Little Sam's Promo for Little Children. Basically, it's just some kid telling us what the critics had to say about the film, but for some reason it made me laugh ... in that, "am I laughing because it's funny or because I'm really really bored" kind of way. [via MCN]
• We already brought you one fake Apocalypto trailer, in which its creator merged the Mel Gibson film with that Zach Braff film, The Last Kiss. Well, Saturday Night Live (God bless their little hearts for still trying to be funny after all these years) came up with their own fake trailer. And, although they're extremely late to the game with the anti-Jew jokes, it's still better than 94% of the crap that show shovels out each week. [via Hollywood Wiretap]
• It's not just audiences who are pissed about spending money on the recent horror flick Turistas, the people of Brazil (where the film was shot) are all up in arms over the nature of the pic and are afraid it will prevent people from visiting. Of course there's your standard boycott from one group, and Paris Filmes (the indie distributor releasing Turistas in Brazil) has already said they will show a text before each screening that claims Paris "is against anything that harms the image of Brazil." To further the protest, some folks got together to create this animated cartoon called Turistas 2, which reverses the roles and shows what happens when two Brazilian tourists visit America. As you can imagine, hilarity (and President Bush) ensues. (Note: Foul language included within) [via MCN]

No matter what your opinion on the now ubiquitous trailer mash-up, some can actually be pretty funny. My first experience was not that long ago with the mash-up of The Shining featuring Jack Nicholson doing his best troubled romantic-comedy guy routine -- instead of the raving psycho he really is in the actual movie. Although, that wasn't the first one ever made. According to Wikipedia, that honor actually goes to former NYU students Ben Campbell, Sal Perez, Jack Picone and Spencer Somers and their mash-up of Kill Bill and The Passion of the Christ called Kill Christ. So, if you don't like mash-ups you can blame them.

Plus, there's the one with A Christmas Story re-imagined as a horror film. That's pretty funny. I also like the X-Men: Last Stand / Office Space one as well. It's interesting how some of the shots can be so dramatic when taken out of context. I may never look at Office Space the same way again. Well, I probably will. And, of course, the mash-up got even more popular thanks in large part to those two gay cowboys in Brokeback Mountain (as our own Martha rightly pointed out before). So you had a string of Brokeback mash-ups which now run into the dozens over at YouTube. Search, you'll fine 'em. My favorite -- Brokeback to the Future. Now that's what a mash-up is supposed to be.

There's even a website (probably more than one) devoted completely to mash-ups that you can check out if you feel strongly about your love for these things and just want more, more, more of them. Which brings us to one of the latest ones -- a mash-up of Apocalypto and The Last Kiss called Zach Brafs' Apocolypto. Not as funny as Brokeback to the Future but I give them an "A" for effort. Enjoy.

Perhaps I'm just tired of watching films about whiny almost-30-year-old guys who don't want to grow up, or perhaps it's just that I'm tired of seeing Zach Braff do the angsty, existential thing. Whatever the case, Braff can't be solely blamed for The Last Kiss. Unlike Garden State, which he also wrote and directed, in The Last Kiss Braff only wears his acting hat. The film, directed by Tony Goldwyn off a screenplay by Paul Haggis (who's capable of much better), is a remake of 2001 Italian flick L' Ultimo bacio.

In The Last Kiss, Braff has the misfortune to play Michael, an architect with a gorgeous, perfect, long-time girlfriend, Jenna (Jacinda Barrett), who has just found out she's pregnant. The unexpected pregnancy sends Michael into a quiet state of freak-out which he carefully conceals, pasting on enthusiastic smiles for Jenna, her parents and their friends. He assures Jenna he's happy about the pregnancy (although impending fatherhood isn't quite enough to boost him past his marriage phobia), and that he'll love her pregnant body. Meanwhile, under the surface, he just wants to run screaming for the nearest exit back to adolescent freedom.

Turns out we were in the mood for a little football this weekend, as Dwayne Johnson (aka the guy who will soon be formerly known as The Rock) and the Gridiron Gang finished first at the box office with $15 million. Pic marks the tenth number one film for Sony this year, breaking the previous record set by the same studio back in 2003.

Despite lukewarm reviews and its debuting in over a thousand less theaters, Brian De Palma's The Black Dahlia snuck into the weekend's number two spot with $10.4 million. Even with an all-star cast that includes Josh Hartnett, Scarlett Johansson, Aaron Eckhart and Hilary Swank, I'd expect the negative buzz to hurt the film heading into its second week. Let's see if I'm right. With not much family-friendly type stuff out in theaters, Everyone's Hero (the animated film Christopher Reeve was working on prior to his death) snatched up the third spot, bringing in roughly $6.2 million from 2,896 theaters.

With only a couple thousand dollars separating the two, The Last Kiss (in which Zach Braff stars as a guy who's dissatisfied with where his life is at) just barely beat The Covenant (whose $4.7 million marked a 46% drop off in sales from the previous week in which it finished number one), capturing roughly $4.702 million.

Full numbers after the jump.

Just yesterday, our very own Matt Bradshaw told you how actor/director/writer Zach Braff decided to push back plans for directing his next flick in the interest of waiting on a few actors he really wanted. At the time, we had no idea what this would do to the long rumored plans of Zach Braff taking the lead role in a new Fletch movie. However, 24 hours is a long time in movie-land, and we now have newer and more up-to-date information. While doing promotional work for his newest acting gig, The Last Kiss, Braff took some time out to discuss future plans. He had a lot to say about the new and (final?) season of Scrubs (including a possible guest role -- David Cross as Tobias Funke!), and also found time to discuss the whole Fletch Won rumor. As to his involvement in the film, he said "I don't know. Bill Lawrence is definitely writing and directing Fletch, and there's a good chance I'll do it. I've just got to talk to Uncle Harvey (Weinstein) ...I was the one who told Harvey he should hire Bill. Bill's a huge Fletch fan."

So it sounds like Braff is still very interested in the role, although no promises have been made yet. I can't imagine how the situation would lead to Weinstein telling the very popular Braff he can't be in a comedy movie based on a set of books Braff is very familiar with (as evidenced by further comments made by Braff in the same promotional gig), particularly since no time table is in place for Fletch yet. The final word as of right now: Braff still wants Fletch ... but does Fletch want Braff?

Folks, prepare to be bummed out: Zach Braff, Emmy-nominated star of the hit NBC series Scrubs and writer/director/star of Garden State (2004) has placed his latest directorial effort on hold. Open Hearts, based on a Danish film called Elsker dig for evigt was to begin production this summer but, as Braff told Moviehole.net, he will be postponing production. "I was going to do it this summer, but since I couldn't get my top people I'm waiting until next summer." According to IMDB, the original film concerns the travails of an engaged couple after the man is paralyzed in an automobile accident and the woman falls for the husband of the driver that caused the accident. How Braff's take on the story will vary from the original remains to be seen.

While Garden State fans like myself may be disheartened to learn that Braff's next film will take that much longer to hit the screen, the fact that Braff is willing to wait for the right cast would seem to indicate an auteur striving to remain faithful to his vision. Braff's fans should also bear in mind that Open Hearts will not be the light-hearted romp Garden State was. "The next thing I will do will be completely different," he told Moviehole. "It's a really dark drama about a car accident and the way the accident affects all the people involved in it."

As to whether or not this may help firm up Braff's rumored involvement in a new Fletch film (as previously reported here on Cinematical) is anyone's guess. Braff's current film The Last Kiss -- in which he stars but does not direct -- opens in theaters on September 15.

Twelve years after Jim Carrey and Cameron Diaz starred opposite one another in The Mask, it appears the duo will reunite for A Little Game Without Consequence, to be directed by Gabriele Muccino. Based on a play (which was already adapted into a French film back in 2004), pic will mark Muccino's second English-language effort -- he also directed the upcoming Will Smith flick, The Pursuit of Happyness. (Yes Martha, it's still spelled wrong.) Muccino's 2001 Italian-language film, L'Ultimo Bacio, has its own American version (The Last Kiss) coming out this fall.

In Consequence, Carrey and Diaz will play a "seemingly perfect couple who pretend to break up shortly after their fifth anniversary, only to discover most of their friends and family didn't really like them as a couple in the first place." Heck, I don't blame them -- personally, I can't see them as a couple either. Production is set to begin in New York City this October, which means we can expect the film to hit theaters at some point towards the end of 2007.

[via Coming Soon]

So far, the titles that have been announced as appearing at the Toronto International Film Festival have been primarily independent, often foreign films. And while their presence at the Festival is incredibly exciting to film nerds like yours truly, it's hard to deny that anticipation for any festival ratchets up a notch when the high-profile premieres are revealed. For TIFF, some of those titles were announced yesterday.

The most widely anticipated debut is undoubtedly that of Darren Aronofsky's loooooong-await The Fountain, which is now set to have its North American premiere in Toronto. In addition, Christopher Guest's For Your Consideration (in which he finally turns his skewering on Hollywood itself), Tony Goldwyn's remake The Last Kiss (yawn), the tantalizing Stranger Than Fiction, which stars Will Ferrell as a man who suddenly finds his life narrated by Emma Thompson, and El Cantante, the JLo-Marc Anthony movie, will all have their world premieres at the Fest.

And yes, TIFF still runs from September 7 until the 16th.

Love, sex, relationships, marriage, lies, cheating, betrayal, murder. Yeah, that pretty much describes a day in the life of most men on this planet. But that's what men do -- they wage a war inside against what feels good and what is good. They sin. This isn't to say women don't share in the sinning game -- they most certainly do. A lot. It's just men are the ones that get caught. They're the ones we pay more attention to. We expect it from a man, whereas we'd like to think of a lady as, well, a lady.

I've sinned. Oh yeah, if you searched hard enough inside my cramped New York City apartment, there's a little box of secrets kept hidden from the occasional guest. Not many people know the contents of said box. Those that do, however, were at some point shocked, deceived, disappointed and angry at me. They had to make a choice: Walk out of my life forever or close the box, put it away and continue on with the rest of our day. Sins and secrets. The two make a perfect match. One hides the awful actions of the other. It's the most common love affair human beings have with themselves. And things are swell until the love affair becomes a love triangle. After all, it's only a matter of time before consequence joins the party.

Sins and secrets. The following films are full of them. Yes, I know it's hard to think of such evil when the charismatic Zach Braff is sitting in a tree house above, taunting us with a face full of coming-of-age angst. Oh, but he's hiding something inside that cute, melancholy persona. He's hiding something big. Just like you. Or me. Welcome to this week's Trailer Park: