VanRamblings’ bets that there are some of you out there who believe that we are some sort of film snob. Perish the thought, not so. We love well-made, well-acted, well-filmed and flashy popcorn fare just as much as the next moviegoer. Of course, unlike many, we demand a coherent story, emotional investment in the characters who appear onscreen, and something approaching art in the films we designate as being worthwhile.
To that end, we ran into a trailer for a new popcorn-style thriller while surfing the ‘Net yesterday. Starring Denzel Washington, Ryan Reynolds, Vera Farmiga, Brendan Gleeson, Sam Shepard, Rubén Blades, Robert Patrick and a host of others, the American début film by Swedish director Daniél Espinosa is schedule for release as first-rate, Tony Scott Man on Fire-style thriller fare, Friday, February 10th, 2012. We’ll be there.

Wondering what the state of the Oscar race might be two and a half months before Oscar nominations are announced?
As we mentioned in a previous post, the folks behind MovieCityNews (that would be, among others, that site’s founder, David Poland) each November publish a weekly update of contenders for Best Film, Best Actor and Actress, Best Director, etc. through until the announcement of the Oscar nominations, the last Tuesday of January; in 2012, that’s January 24th.
Have a look at the next page, then click on the graphic to be taken to the MovieCityNews page where Hitfix’s Gregory Ellwood, Deadline Hollywood’s Pete Hammond, the Toronto Star’s Peter Howell, Entertainment Weekly’s Dave Karger, the Los Angeles Times’ 24 Frames blogger Mark Olsen, MovieCityNews’ own David Poland, The Wrap’s Steve Pond, Award Daily’s Sasha Stone, In Contention’s Kris Tapley, Indiewire’s Anne Thompson, Movie|Line editor S.T. VanAirsdale, and USA Today’s Susan Wloszczyna weigh in on the state of the Oscar race at the beginning of November 2011.

Continue reading The State of the 2012 Oscar Race, and an Upcoming Popcorn Flick →

A Top 10 VanRamblings’ favourite at the recent Vancouver International Film Festival, the Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner Like Crazy is due to open in Vancouver on Friday, November 18th. VanRamblings has two tickets for anyone wishing to attend the advance screening of Like Crazy at Leonard Schein’s Fifth Avenue Cinemas, 2110 Burrard Street, 7 p.m., on Wednesday, November 16th. This is the romantic film of the year — be sure to bring some hankies along, cuz you’re gonna cry. For two tickets, just post an e-mail to VanRamblings, by clicking here, and we’ll e-mail you the passes for you to print from your computer. Get there early!

The latest movie trailer for Steve McQueen’s upcoming NC17-rated Shame, a surefire Oscar contender, has just appeared on the web. Here it is …

Continue reading Thursday, and It’s Raining, So We Bring You Film and Song →

As a follow-up to our story yesterday about Justin Timberlake being cast by the Coen’s as the lead in their new film, Inside Llewyn Davis, more casting news of note regarding five films set for production in the new year.

• First up, James Gandolfini is in talks to join Steve Carell and Jim Carrey in Burt Wonderstone, the story of a famous but jaded Vegas magician (the title character to be played by Carrell) who fights for relevance when a new, “hip” street magician (Carrey) appears on the scene. Olivia Wilde will play Carell’s love interest, and Steve Buscemi has signed to play Wonderstone’s friend and partner. 30 Rock’s Don Scardino will direct from a script rewritten by Jason Reitman. Burt Wonderstone is scheduled to start shooting in January.
• Mads Mikkelson, who starred as the bad guy in Daniel Craig’s Casino Royale, has been set to star in The Hunt, which is about to start shooting in Denmark with director Thomas Vintenberg (The Celebration), a co-founder of the Dogme 95 movement with Lars von Trier. Co-written by Vintenberg and Tobias Lindholm (Submarino), the script follows Mikkelson as a recently divorced small town man accused of abusing a small child.
• Up in The Air’s Anna Kendrick has been cast in Pitch Perfect, a musical romantic comedy. Kendrick will play Beca, a rebellious and goth-like college student who discovers her voice in her school’s female a cappella group. Shooting will commence later this month.
  
• In somewhat more serious casting news, Tom Hooper’s The King’s Speech follow up, Les Misérables (which hasn’t been done on film since Bille August’s 1998 version with Liam Neeson and Claire Danes), just added Eddie Redmayne (My Week With Marilyn, The Good Shepherd) to its all star cast. Playing Marius, he will join Hugh Jackman (Jean Valjean), Russell Crowe (Inspector Javert) and Anna Hathaway (Fantine). The musical has its heart set on Oscar 2013, with a December 2012 release date (after all, The King’s Speech dominated the 2011 Oscars). This edition of the Victor Hugo classic was written by William Nicholson, with Claude-Michel Schonberg and Lain Boublil doing the music. Working Title’s Tim Bevan, and partners, will produce.
  
• Amanda Seyfried, currently in theatres starring in Andrew Niccol’s In Time, has been cast as Linda Lovelace in Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman’s (Howl) movie about the controversial 70s porn star. Peter Sarsgaard is reportedly in negotiations to play her husband Chuck Traynor, the pornographer who coaxed her into becoming an adult film actress. Reports indicate that the film’s screenwriters, Andy Belling and W. Merritt Johnson, based their screenplay on Eric Danville’s book The Complete Linda Lovelace. A career killer for Seyfried, or a ‘breakout’ role? Time will tell. Filming on Lovelace is expected to start in January.
  
• Colin Farrell and Dragon Tattoo’s Noomi Rapace have been cast in Dead Man Down, a mob drama to be directed by Niels Arden Oplev, who helmed the original The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, which starred Rapace. The shoot is scheduled for an early 2012 start.

Continue reading Casting News, Catherine Deneuve, Roman Polanski and Repulsion →

Shame, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, and Tyrannosaur lead the British Independent Film nominations: The three UK movies have received seven nods apiece for this year’s awards, the ceremony to take place in London on December 4. We Need to Talk About Kevin and Kill List each received six nominations, with Submarine following closely with five. Jury members for this year’s 14th awards include actor David Thewlis, producer Charles Steel (The Last King of Scotland) and director Josh Appignanesi (The Infidel).

Best British Independent Film
Senna
Shame
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Tyrannosaur
We Need To Talk About Kevin
Best Director
Ben Wheatley – Kill List
Steve McQueen – Shame
Tomas Alfredson – Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Paddy Considine – Tyrannosaur
Lynne Ramsay – We Need To Talk About Kevin
Best Actress
Rebecca Hall – The Awakening
Mia Wasikowska – Jane Eyre
MyAnna Buring – Kill List
Olivia Colman – Tyrannosaur
Tilda Swinton – We Need To Talk About Kevin
Best Actor
Brendan Gleeson – The Guard
Neil Maskell – Kill List
Michael Fassbender – Shame
Gary Oldman – Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Peter Mullan – Tyrannosaur
Best Supporting Actress
Felicity Jones – Albatross
Vanessa Redgrave – Coriolanus
Carey Mulligan – Shame
Sally Hawkins – Submarine
Kathy Burke – Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Best Supporting Actor
Michael Smiley – Kill List
Tom Hardy – Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Benedict Cumberbatch – Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Eddie Marsan – Tyrannosaur
Ezra Miller – We Need To Talk About Kevin

Anne Thompson weighs in on how the Brit awards affect the Oscars.

Continue reading An Early Week Potpurri of Cinema-Related Coverage →