tom hollander Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Embedded above is the trailer for Armando Iannucci's political spin farce, In the Loop, which James and others had been talking up since Sundance. I suppose that's a fitting response, for them to talk about a movie that's all about talk, as the trailer capably demonstrates (well, a commenter or two on Funny or Die still demand to know what the movie's really about). I myself was initially skeptical of anything dealing with labyrinthine political dealings, but I've been assured that that isn't really the point of it all -- and I've gotta say, the phrase "difficult-difficult-lemon-difficult" still tickles me so.

IFC will release this in select theaters and (thankfully, for us non-NY/LAers) on-demand come July 24th. That's enough time for me to catch up on original series "The Thick of It," though I've been told that familiarity with it wouldn't be necessary. At least, that's what I think they said...

In the Loop, which was picked up for U.S. release by IFC at Sundance, seemed tailor-made for easy summations: "It's The Office meets The West Wing," the early-screening set said, along with raving endorsements about how funny In the Loop actually was. And the latter part of that was proven right when I saw In the Loop at Sundance; it's achingly, wrenchingly, dizzyingly funny, with a bleak, bitter sense of humor that makes each laugh feel like the people behind In the Loop are not so much tickling your funny bone as they are going at it with an ice pick.

And yes, In the Loop has the handheld-yet-slightly-too-steady camerawork of The Office, where the comedy of uncomfortable silence builds and builds as the camera lingers and stays on, and it also has the petty rivalries and silly squabbles of The Office; it seems that whether you're selling paper or pushing it, work is work. And In the Loop also has the insider-y, rushed feeling of The West Wing, where many scenes are done as a walk-and-talk and we're reminded that they talk about the corridors of power because that's usually where the deals get cut.

But In the Loop also transcends those easy comparisons, and does so to great effect. The idea that government is as messy and petty and foolish as any other workplace is scary, and funny; the insider's view of politics in it isn't warm walk-and-talk idealism but the ugly, mean pragmatism of the stalk-and-talk, or even the prowl-and-growl. On the surface level, In the Loop is The Office meets The West Wing, sure; what it winds up feeling more like is as if John Cleese and George Orwell wrote Dr. Strangelove for our media-soaked age where wars are conducted in part through press releases and focus groups, or Catch-22 for the 24/7 news era.

Back in January, I blogged about the BBC show The Thick of It getting the feature treatment. The film, tentatively titled In the Loop, will be set in the same world as the television show, but it hadn't been determined whether the same characters would pop up. According to the latest post over at The Hollywood Reporter, it seems that the production is going half-fresh. This is particularly noteworthy because the actors are James Gandolfini, David Rasche (United 93), and ... My Girl Anna Chlumsky. Yes, Anna his swam out of the ether and right to BBC remakes!

The film will focus on the inner workings of US and British government agencies and international relations, Chlumsky will play a State Department official, Gandolfini will play a general, and Rasche has signed on to play an undersecretary of state. On the British side of things, Peter Capaldi, Chris Addison, and Paul Higgins from the series are starring with Tom Hollander and Gina McKee.

A few new bits of info have hit the net regarding the third and final installment in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. Not much has been said about Captain Jack's last trip (well, we tried, but Disney made us remove the news) and so any small bit of tasty goodness is worth reporting. According to Jim Hill via his website, the man has gotten his hands on the plot summaries for four of Disney's highly anticipated films due out in 2007. Along with POTC part 3, he dishes the dirt on Meet the Robinsons, Ratatouille and Enchanted.

With a working title of Pirates the Caribbean: At World's End, the plot description does seem a bit vague, but still manages to give up a couple spoilers, depending on how much you know and how hard you look for them. As expected from the title, look for sh*t to hit the fan as our favorite characters collide in some sort of climactic battle, while navigating their way through treachery and betrayal. The actual description isn't too far off from the one I just gave you, but feel free to check it out for yourself.

However, one small tidbit did surface out of the mouth of Tom Hollander, who will be playing the role of Lord Cutler Beckett in Dead Man's Chest. According to the actor, Keith Richards will indeed be making a cameo appearance in World's End, most likely as Captain Jack's father. Previous rumors had him possibly playing a role in Dead Man's Chest, but due to conflicts with that whole Stones thing, the casting remained up in the air. Hopefully it's true this time -- I know my fingers are crossed.

[via JoBlo]

Bad movie lovers, rejoice -- your prayers have been answered. Here is a craptacular bonanza the likes of which hasn't been seen since Howard the Duck. Actually, this film climbs to even dizzier heights than that one, climbing and climbing until it reaches the outer troposphere of good-badness. Rarely have I seen such an explosive boomerang of misdirected creativity. Land of the Blind supposedly drops us into a 'nameless' time and place, but the problem is that there's nothing nameless at all in writer/director Robert Edwards' universe. Recognizable history, architecture and costuming have all been boosted from the real world and re-arranged to some confusing purpose. The film's focus is on a Stalinist dictator with British henchmen who lives in a giant Hindu palace, enjoys American basketball, attends pagan funerals where bodies are set afire, and watches vaudeville routines. It's as if some sample-happy Martian Quentin Tarantino decided to make a film about life on Earth for an audience that knew nothing about it. There's nothing wrong with anachronism, of course. The HBO western drama Deadwood mixes and matches language from different eras, and the result is brilliant. The problem with Land of the Blind is that there is no artistry whatsoever in the usage. Everything is willy-nilly.