Based on what I’ve read about Phillippe Petit, he had a silly and cloying personality. Not exactly sure who Phillippe Petit is? Why, Petit is the man who, in 1974, attached a high wire to both the north and south towers of the Twin Towers in New York City and performed a very illegal high-wire act. The Walk starring Joseph Gordon Levitt depicts the story behind an act that was never again duplicated. Robert Zemeckis directs this picture and in doing so continues his long track record of bringing the unbelievable to the screen. Remember this is the guy that turned a DeLorean into a time machine, seamlessly integrated cartoons and humans, and brought to life Forrest and Bubba- the only difference is that this story is nowhere close to being fictional.
True to the showmanship of the protagonist, The Walk opens with Petit (Joseph Gordon Levitt) breaking the fourth wall, talking directly to the audience as he narrates from what we realize very quickly is the torch of the Statue of Liberty. As the movie slowly trudges through Petit’s childhood, his relationship with a circus showman (Ben Kingsley) and a young street musician (Charlotte Le Bon), we realize that this story was crafted with inordinate amount of whimsy and nonsense. Whether Zemeckis and co-writer Christopher Browne wanted that to be case, I can’t answer that for you. It does, however, take the pace of the film to a phlegmatic plod.
The Walk goes from zero to warp speed once Petit reaches New York City and he’s able to touch the World Trade Center for the first time. We do hit a slight bump in the momentum when we have to endure some hokum while Petit recruits an electronic salesman and a door-to-door salesman as his last two accomplices; then this movie jettisons itself into the stratosphere.
The 17-minute wire-walking sequence is one of the most awe-inspiring simulations of a real event since the ship sinking sequence in Titanic. This moment is nothing short of a dazzling triumph for digital effects, which once again shows just what a master Zemeicks is with CGI. The pacing here is never rushed. 17 minutes feels like an eternity, with the viewer transfixed on every microsecond Petit was on that wire 110 stories in the air. I was astonished to learn after the fact, the 17 minutes was actually a fraction of the time Petit stood on that wire. This sequence is done in such a marvelous manner it almost requires the verisimilitude of real time.
I can’t tell you that The Walk is a great movie because it’s not. It’s a good movie with great acting and visual effects. Joseph Gordon Levitt did an outstanding job in the lead role. He brought depth and complexity to the role that truly helped elevate this film.
The problem with this film is it doesn’t have enough source material. Let me explain: no one will argue the true beauty in what Mr. Petit did on that fateful day in 1974, to this day it is one of the most memorable high-wire acts in U.S. History. What I will argue is, does anyone actually care about Mr. Petit’s background? I know the whole time I was watching The Walk I was bursting with anticipation, waiting to see Mr. Petit take his first step on that wire. The story has issues and the issues are in the scenes depicting Petit’s history. As the saying goes, less is more.
Even with its flaws, The Walk is a good film and certainly worth your time. The Walk is a very subtle yet effective tribute to the beauty of the Twin Towers. One could even argue that the 17-minute sequence was Zemicks’s love letter to the Towers. If I can take anything from this film it’s we can find beauty in the strangest of places, even in a film about a high-wire performer.
Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige and producer Jeremy Latchem held a Q&A last night in celebration of the home theater release (new term) of Avengers: Age of Ultron at Hero Complex Gallery in Los Angeles. A special thanks to slashfilm.com for video tapping the the Q&A (watch everything said below).
Latchem stated that a new Avengers team would be formed after the events of the Avengers: Infinity War and that part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe will end.
“I think [Infinity War is] definitely an end to some version of the team that we’ve come to know as The Avengers. Who knows exactly what’s going to happen in that film, but I think this version of that team – I think we start to hint at that end of Age Of Ultron – that the team will be evolving,” said Latchem.
“One of the things we love from the comics is the roster is always changing, that new people are coming on the team, and that you can pick up an Avengers book ten years later and you don’t recognize people on the cover, but the ideas, the ideals, the things that make the Avengers the Avengers, still exist,” said Latchem.
“I think that is part of what this culmination will be, we’re seeing this version of the team doing this thing to save the universe, the galaxy, and we’ll kind of see where that goes. It’s not the end of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but I think that it is the end of part of it. For sure. We’re still trying to sort out which parts that meets,” said Latchem.
Marvel Studios has 10 films coming out over the next four years and it will be interesting to see what the box office numbers look like by then. Will superhero fatigue set in as the general audience moves on to something else (not sure what that could be)? Will Marvel be able to acquire the rights to the X-Men and Fantastic Four by Phase 4? With how quickly technology changes and grows, will Disney create an all Marvel network by 2020 where you pay $10 a month for programming… did your brain explode on that last one?
“If we get the rights to a certain character, that’s great; we’re going to do this. If not, we’re going to do this. We always sort of operate under those various alternate timelines available and ready to shift if something happens,” said Feige.
Who would you like to see on the ‘New Avengers’?
2016:
May 6: Captain America: Civil War
November 4: Doctor Strange
No Date: Marvel’s Luke Cage
No Date: Marvel’s Iron Fist
2017:
May 5: Guardians of the Galaxy 2
July 28: Spider-Man
November 3: Thor: Ragnarok
No Date: Marvel’s The Defenders
2018:
May 4: Avengers: Infinity War, Part 1
July 6: Black Panther
November 2: Captain Marvel
2019:
May 3: Avengers: Infinity War, Part 2
July 12: Inhumans
Powered by frighteningly intense set pieces and powerhouse performances by Emily Blunt and Benecio Del Toro, Sicario may just be the best Hollywood film yet focused on the ongoing war with Mexican drug cartels and the toll taken on those caught in its crossfire. Cleverly incorporating a number of alternative visual techniques to place audiences literally in the thick of some of the most dangerous situations imaginable, it’s a harrowing, grisly journey down a rabbit hole of hidden agendas, half-truths, full-on deceptions and hollow rationalizations for levels of violence that are sure to make anyone question the very humanity of its perpetrators. It’s a film that’s full from beginning to end with a sense of dread, as though no matter how bad things on screen might be at the moment, audiences are only minutes away from it getting much, much worse. Thus, there’s simply no possible way of taking your eyes off it, even for a second, once you’re drawn in.
Blunt plays Arizona FBI agent Kate Macer, whose spent her career thus far kicking down doors and leading tactical teams in kidnap-response situations. For Kate, her work is straight-forward and black and white: go to location, follow protocols, assess and resolve the situation, bring her team back safely. But a gruesome discovery by her team within a house they raided in search of Cartel kidnap victims leads to Kate being asked to volunteer for an interagency task force led by glib and highly unorthodox Department of Defense consultant Matt Graver (Josh Brolin). Graver, along with fellow DoD consultant Alejandro (Del Toro), have in mind to hit back at the cartel responsible for the house of horrors Kate stumbled upon, and so she agrees to join their efforts, but it’s not long before she realizes that the world she’s entering is a whole lot grayer than the one she’s used to.
With her new partners sharing little of their information or specific goals and seemingly even less inclined to make arrests as the operation proceeds, Kate’s resolve to see justice done in regards to her case is sorely tested as Graver and Alejandro’s methods look more and more like those employed by the enemy. The three all agree on one thing: the murders, the beheadings and mutilations, the civilians, including children, being butchered on the streets of cities in both Mexico and the U.S. Southwest — someone has to be held responsible for it all. But how does one do that in a way that those responsible truly feel it, that it actually makes a difference? The answer to that question may prove to be more than even the dedicated Agent Macer can live with.
Director Denis Villanueve (Prisoners) is certainly no stranger to stories focused on ethical ambiguities and how different people in different situations define what’s “necessary” to solve a problem. In Sicario, he takes on telling yet another of these kinds of stories in a place that’s full of them, the U.S.-Mexico border, the source of a growing number of true crime horror stories coming to light in the mainstream media. Drug-related violence, gang wars, illegal immigration, governmental and institutional corruption on both sides of the border, all combine in that particular corner of North America to create a Badlands-like region where respect for the rule of law seems only a dream, a long, lost ideal that those in the midst of all that death on a daily basis haven’t the luxury of living by. Villanueve takes audiences on a journey into that world using Blunt’s character Kate as their viewpoint and their moral compass. As she’s written in the script by Taylor Sheridan (TV’s “Sons of Anarchy“), Kate is the character whose reality is probably closest to that of the viewer, even with her training and experience as someone used to dealing with criminals. Her humanity, despite the nature of her work and who it brings her in contact with, is still intact at the film’s start, and so as she comes face to face with horror after grim horror, the blows she takes, both physical and psychological, are sure to be felt by audiences, as well.
Of course, none of that works if the performer in question isn’t any good, which certainly is not the case here. Blunt, a versatile performer whose work in recent years has ranged from gritty sci-fi action (Looper, Edge of Tomorrow) to Broadway screen adaptation (Into the Woods), delivers work here that should make Oscar voters sit up and take notice when the time comes, effectively conveying the emotional battle Kate wages within herself between her principles and the growing sense that those principles and the rules built around them mean almost nothing in the face of this particular enemy. Blunt’s character forms one end of a morality spectrum in the film, by far the lonelier end, as the film’s other main characters, Brolin’s grinning, sardonic Graves and Del Toro’s serious-as-death Alejandro chief among them, firmly occupying the other end. That’s not to say that Villanueve has Brolin and Del Toro play their characters as soulless, morality-free caricatures running amok with government sanction — they’re simply pragmatists who know their enemy. Del Toro’s take on Alejandro is particularly captivating, as his interactions with Kate reveal an emotional depth and complexity that belies the brutal pragmatism that characterizes his other actions.
In the course of capturing all that subtle nuance and character-driven tension, Villanueve and his director of photography Roger Deakins (Prisoners, Skyfall) also capture some truly breathtaking visuals of the dark places and borderland settings to which the characters journey, including footage shot around and over Ciudad Juarez in Mexico, which just a few short years ago was the homicide capital of the world and remains one of the world’s most dangerous cities for civilians and journalists thanks to militarized cartel gangs and federal police waging war day-to-day on its streets. Villanueve’s narrative lens also lingers over the vast swaths of desolate terrain along the border and between the cities where the battles are waged, capturing their beauty at different times of day and night, and that beauty always intruded upon by men and their instruments of conflict. Case in point: the nighttime black-ops raid that is the film’s most critical set-piece, shot partly with thermal vision and night vision cameras, is easily one of the most harrowing, suspenseful sequences seen on film this year, and even it begins with a gorgeous panoramic shot of signature American southwest desert at dusk, vibrant with color and beauty as it slowly gives way to the darkness that will shroud the carnage to come.
All in all, because it’s hardly a “feel-good” story and not exactly a great time at the movies, Sicario may be hard for audiences to describe as an enjoyable experience once the credits roll. But in all likelihood they’ll be just as hard pressed to say it didn’t have an impact on them, or that they weren’t on the edge of their seat the whole time. It’s one of those films that, given the chance, will grab hold of you and not let go for all the reasons listed above and more. It’s easily one of the year’s best, and it deserves your attention and your attendance.
Sicario
Starring Emily Blunt, Benicio Del Toro, Josh Brolin, Victor Garber, Jon Bernthal, Daniel Kaluuya, Jeffrey Donovan. Directed by Denis Villanueve.
Running Time: 121 minutes
Rated R for strong violence, grisly images, and language.
The cast and crew of Star Trek Beyond just finished a three-month film shoot in Vancouver and now will film for 13-days in the city of Dubai.
The cast held a press conference today to talk about filming in the city.
“Dubai represents the future of what the frontier would be like in our film, and is an excellent place to shoot the movie as well as a special opportunity for all of us. This is not just the third of three movies, but has a new, refreshing twist, and Dubai’s great visuals really fit the story,” said producer Jeffrey Chernov.
“I love discovering new places and Dubai is such a stunning city – it looks like a future land! I am extremely happy to be here making this great film with Justin and the team, and so far my experiences have been wonderful, people have been gracious and welcoming,” said Chris Pine.
Star Trek Beyond stars Idris Elba, Simon Pegg, Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldana, John Cho and Anton Yelchin with direction from Justin Lin. The film opens July 8, 2016.
Teddy Sears posted on his Instagram account the first good look at his portrayal of the Earth-2 Flash, Jay Garrick. The Crimson Comet will make his first appearance in the premiere of season two of The Flash.
The Flash returns to the CW on October 7 with “The Man Who Saved Central City” to kick off the second season.
BARRY DECIDES HE NEEDS TO PROTECT THE CITY ON HIS OWN – Picking up months after the Singularity attacked Central City, Barry (Grant Gustin) is still struggling to forgive himself for Eddie’s death. Concerned about putting his friends in danger, Barry has pushed everyone away and has chosen to protect the city on his own. When a meta-human named Atom Smasher (guest star Adam Copeland) attacks the city, Iris (Candice Patton) tells Barry that he needs to let his friends help him protect the citizens of Central City. Meanwhile, Cisco (Carlos Valdes) helps Joe (Jesse L. Martin) with his Meta Task Force. Ralph Hemecker directed the episode with story by Greg Berlanti & Andrew Kreisberg and teleplay by Andrew Kreisberg & Gabrielle Stanton (#201).
“It’s not about when you show up, it’s about what you do once you’re there,” said Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige.
Fiege said this in reference to Spider-Man joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe in an interview with IGN. The MCU guru also talked about what it means to have Peter Parker where he belongs now that marvel and Sony have worked out a deal with the movie rights.
“Making that agreement … was great, and was really amazing, and on a personal level making these movies, it means a lot because I think we can do great things with Spider-Man. I think Spider-man can serve a great purpose in our universe and that’s where he belongs. That was what was unique about him in the comics was not that he was the only superhero in the world; it’s that he was a totally different kind of superhero when compared against all the other ones in the Marvel universe at the time,” said Feige.
How excited are you, now that Spider-Man will fight alongside the Avengers?
The first time you will see your favorite Wall-Crawler is on May 6, 2016 in Captain America: Civil War.
Actress Anna Paquin announced recently that she isn’t going to play Rogue in the new Gambit movie, a spin-off to the X-Men franchise, developed thanks to Channing Tatum. Paquin was having a small Twitter conversation with a fan who asked her whether she was going to appear in the Gambit movie and the actress simply said “no”.
So that gives us at least one hint about Gambit: Rogue won’t be his love interest. Or will she? After being cut from X-Men: Days of Future Past, Paquin might not want to return to the franchise under any condition, and who could blame her? I imagine she has other more interesting projects for her (like The Pink Hotel film adaptation, which she is producing) that don’t involve going back to something she did years ago.
But in the original X-Men movies, which Bryan Singer seems to want to cancel out, Rogue is involved with Ice-Man and not Gambit, like it is in the comics. That could be another reason why Paquin will not be in it. Her “no” could mean “They’re not counting on me”.
Something which is also certain is the fact that the pre-production phase of Gambit is being rather tumultuous after Channing Tatum allegedly almost abandoned it (but really pressured Fox to get more money) and director Rupert Wyatt actually left.
Staying true to the comics this time, Rogue defines herself as a southern belle, as she was born in Mississippi. If Fox ever decided to cast a new actress to play Rogue, in either Gambit or any other X-Men film, here’s a few actresses who I think could pull it off:
Brie Larson
She has an impressive filmography, from hugely popular movies like 21 Jump Street and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, to indie gem Short Term 12 and the TV drama United States of Tara. She has proven to posses a wide range of acting habilities, although she has mainly leaned towards comedy. Apart from that, although Brie Larson is younger than Anna Paquin, she has a mature look.
Mary Elizabeth Winstead
Also appeared in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, playing Ramona Flowers. She has a sweeter look in comparison to Paquin, but she is closer in age and could pull off an action superhero movie. She has a few indie, horror, drama, and comedy films under her belt. She was also born in North Carolina, so she has the southern belle aspect down.
Brit Marling
I’m not sure that she would go for a role like Rogue, but Marling has shown time and time again how skilled an actress she is (playing a handful of strong female roles) as well as writer, producer and director. In The Keeping Room she flawlessly put on that important southern accent.
Saoirse Ronan
This might be an unpopular choice, but if they ever wanted to go for a younger-looking Rogue, this girl is brilliant in any kind of genre. So a superhero film would be a piece of cake for her. She’s lived in Ireland since she was very little, but with a good dialect coach she could master a southern accent. She starred Hanna, an action-adventure thriller for which she trained hard, so she already has that experience.
Dakota Fanning
In the same line of choosing a younger Rogue, Dakota has an incredible acting experience for her 21 years of age. We all know she has worked with some of the better recognized directors and veteran actors in Hollywood, and she’s also a real southern belle (born and raised in Georgia).
As the month comes to an end and the upcoming Fall season approaches, excitement for what this season has in store is beginning to grow. But I’m not done covering some lesser known shows. So, before the month changes to the 10th, allow me to cover the action show Lance N’ Masques, you might just find it interesting.
Synopsis: “Yōtarō Hanafusa is a young man who is part of the last remaining order of knights in the 21st century, “Knights of the World.” As he fights as the mysterious Knight Lancer, he must hide his identity behind a mask. One day he meets a girl named Makio Kidōin, and when finding that she lives alone, decides to watch over her.”
I have to be a little honest here, I am not a fan of the art style. It’s pretty freakin’ ugly. Not to mention Studio Gokumi doesn’t have the best record (Saki Episode of Side A being their best work), and I’ve never been a fan of the authors work (even if he named one after me).
However, the director for the is responsible for bringing Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso to us. It was his full directorial debut, and it was pretty great. This story seems to be a different style than what the author normally goes for (at least, I hope it’s not just a school slice-of-life), so perhaps we can actually look forward to this.
Concerns aside, I plan on watching this solely for the director, and who knows, maybe it’ll be great, maybe it’ll be a dud. We’ll just have to watch and find out.
Lance N’ Masques will begin airing October 2nd, 2015 for the Fall 2015 season.
Michael Fassbender, Marion Cotillard, and director Justin Kurzel discuss the method and direction behind their new Macbeth adaptation in this interview special from Film 4. Along with brief interviews the five-minute special also shows behind-the-scenes glimpses, displaying some of the majestic sets and scenery of the film.
Here is the interview special:
Shakespeare’s work is always open for interpretation, and the trio appear to have a firm grasp on how they want to tell the story of the Scottish king, corrupted by violence and, as Fassbender says here, suffering from PTSD. The super slo-mo war footage also fascinates me.
Here is the official synopsis, for anyone unfamiliar with the original work:
Set in the 11th century and using Shakespeare’s original dialogue, the film follows General Macbeth (Michael Fassbender), whose ambitious wife (Marion Cotillard) urges him to use wicked means in order to gain power of the throne over the sitting king.
Macbeth will begin with the limited release rollout schedule this fall, beginning with its UK release December 4.
In Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D’s opening episode for season three, “Laws of Nature,” Marvel spares no time to slowly ease into the newest season. No, right from the get go AOS is running smoothly as if it’s in mid-season form, with no missteps between the action, story, and possible Easter Eggs. AOS instantly feels like the Marvel property it was always meant to be. If every episode going forward runs as seamlessly and fluid as “Laws of Nature”, one can only imagine how good it will be once all the pieces of this season’s plot are in play.
After Joey Gutierrez (Juan Pablo Raba) ingests the Terrigen infused Fish Oil capsules from season two’s finale, he is almost instantaneously hunted down by a mysterious black ops team (later to be revealed as the Advanced Threat Containment Unit) when he is unable to control his abilities, setting fire and melting various objects around his apartment block. It is from this point where we also get a look at where all the characters have come since last season, as well the MCU’s current struggle with super-powered and alien individuals, after several large scale catastrophes to include The Battle of New York (Marvel’s Avengers), the attack on London (Thor: The Dark World) and of course most recently, Sokovia (Avengers: Age of Ultron). AOS also briefly touches upon the need for the Advanced Threat Containment Unit, since the last agency who handled these matters, is no longer trusted or even known to exist since the events of Captain America: The Winter Soldier. This is where we are introduced to Rosalind Price (Constance Zimmer), the head of the ATCU and a possible ally for the Agents moving forward, who I have some theories about I’ll touch upon later. But let’s not forget our first villain this season either, in Lash (Matthew Willig), a destructive Inhuman who if anything like his comic counterpart, will be seen alot in the coming season, as more and more Inhumans begin emerging.
Overall, AOS could not have had a better start to its third season. Marvel easily shows how “everything is connected” within their cinematic world, without overcompensating in their films. AOS stands strong on its own without the need of the bigger film powerhouses, but doesn’t shy away from reminding the audience it’s aware of what happens in the rest of the MCU world. Even Marvel’s most recent film Ant-Man, gets a nod and name drop in a theory Fitz’s (Iain de Caestecker) has about what happened to Agent Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge), when she was engulfed by the ancient alien monolith. Even HYDRA is not forgotten but seems to be in limbo until they return as the forefront villains.
With such a strong start to the third season, one can only wonder what lies ahead in future episodes.
Random Thoughts and Theories: Advanced Threat Containment Unit: With the way the ATCU is being introduced, I have a sneaking suspicion this could be laying the ground work for S.W.O.R.D or at least some variation of it. I would even go so far as to put money on the ATCU, being the beginning of S.W.O.R.D or the Sentient World Observation and Response Department.>
Rosalind Price: If the ATCU will eventually become S.W.O.R.D, I would guess to say it’s highly probable Rosalind Price could be Special Agent Abigail Brand. Price has been shown to have worked for multiple government agencies, Zimmer who plays Price is a strong actress who could pull off a long term role as Brand and finally, AOS has established Price goes by a variety of aliases, with her real name unknown. Maybe Brand is another one of these aliases?
Agent Simmons: I have only seen a couple theories for Simmons location, two of which being the most plausible in Hala, the Kree home world or the Blue Area of the Moon, which is deeply connected to the Inhumans in the Marvel mythos. However, I don’t see it being either of those. Both are too big and important in the MCU, to be left to AOS to establish. Especially with James Gunn handling the cosmic end of the MCU and the upcoming Inhumans I would guess this alien planet is some kind of former Kree satellite city or maybe colony, rather than something as important as Hala or the Blue Area of The Moon.
Joey Gutierrez: An interesting theory online suggested Joey, the first openly LBGT character in the MCU, could be some kind of homage or inspired character of Joey the Morlock. Since Marvel cannot use the Morlocks in their properties, the theory suggest that AOS will use some kind of underground group of Inhumans instead, with them recently developing powers and hiding out from the world. I see this theory as unlikely, with Joey most likely being a new character from Marvel, who they will be using going forward. But, it’s an interesting theory worth mentioning none the less.
